Joseph Muscat and Manuel Mallia have led Viviane Reding a merry dance, with Simon Busuttil in the process ending up over a barrel.

Consider this: 

A Russian oligarch comes to Malta with his wife, daughter and son.  

Ivan, his son and his daughter are the majority shareholders of a dozen or so companies ranging from the oilfields of Siberia to a big chunk of the international arms traffic – much of which ends up as assets for Bashir al-Assad’s army or his chum across the border in Teheran.

But the main application of this family for Maltese citizenship is in the wife’s name. It is she alone who is obliged to complete a year’s residency in Malta, whilst the hubby and kids can – and will – come and go as they please.

And not only that: those three passports of theirs have gone for a song.

What does all this mean? That the EP is nothing but a sinecure for talking heads that led Simon Busuttil – with its 90 per cent vote going for him – to assume that he had it all sewn up.

And the EC? A gargantuan hot-air balloon.

Muscat and Mallia continued with their play-acting and cliff-hanging charade and, with perfect timing, moved in for the kill – in the process making Simon look so simple as he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Joe Genovese

BIRKIRKARA