Give a man some power and you’ll find out what he’s really like. Never mind all the sweet talk that came before. The recent court ruling in favour of two additional parliamentary seats for the PN has revealed Joseph Muscat’s contempt for people’s choices, his contempt for his political adversaries, and his contempt for state institutions.

The court’s ruling was detailed, exhaustive and crystal clear: The PN deserves an additional two seats. But Muscat said – on Twitter, naturally – the Government will be filing an appeal.

The use of Twitter might show that he is media savvy, but it also shows a crass understanding of the separation of powers. Why should the Government appeal when the case was lost by the Electoral Commission?

Some might argue that the Attorney General’s office was involved, and, since the Attorney General represents the interests of the Government, then the Government can appeal. But, in that case, it still is the responsibility of the Attorney General’s office to declare an intention to appeal.

Muscat, once again, failed to make the simple but clear distinction between himself, as Prime Minister leading his Government, and the non-partisan institutions set up to guarantee our democracy. The man who promised the electorate to give the country a sense of state is, day by day, dissolving the necessary distinctions between political party and government, and between government and autonomous state institutions.

The Electoral Commission has not yet expressed itself on the matter. It's worth noting that, in fact, nobody ever denied the mistake made by the Commission while my votes were counted. Not even during the court proceedings. Not even by the lawyers representing the Labour MPs. Proof was beyond any doubt.

The people’s choice was clear: I was elected on the 8th district.  This technically means Edward Scicluna was not elected from this same district. Consequently, this also means that Scicluna had no seat to give up (as he did) and therefore there was no seat for Joe Debono Grech to take up, even though Debono Grech now sits in Parliament.

In the case of Gozo, the court decided that the case was not clear. But considerable doubt remains on how correct it was for the Electoral Commission to declare Justyne Caruana elected from the 13th district.

For a moment, imagine what would happen if the PN had requested the court to take away the two seats from Labour? Muscat would have lost both his Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly and a veteran member of Parliament.

Labour knew full well what had really happened from the start. It took the necessary precautions. Scicluna gave up the 8th district seat because Labour did not want to risk losing the Minister of Finance. And Labour was counting on the notorious length of time for such cases to be decided.

They knew how things stood. They knew whom people had really chosen. But in court, their legal experts, particularly those appointed by the Electoral Commission and the Labour Party, almost ridiculed the arguments made by Therese Comodini Cachia and her team.

Well, despite their attempts at bluster, the court has shown them what their arguments are really worth.

Now Muscat wants to appeal. It’s not enough for him to have had a big victory at the general election and a seven-seat majority. He will only be happy once his opponents are squashed like worms with their guts out, with no chance of revival. That’s his idea of power.

STICKS AND STONES

Remember Muscat campaigning in poetry? Saying that he wants ordinary people to be the focus of his policies? That politics should be at their service? That he wants a new kind of politics not based on personal attacks but on ideas?

Now consider the concerted effort to attack me personally, especially since I exposed the shoddy, shameful treatment given to more than one patient at Mater Dei hospital.

I’ve been a particular target on a certain radio show and in a newspaper that has a fascinating understanding of the term ‘independent media’. But that’s not enough. Some individuals have clearly been assigned to assiduously post hostile comments on my newspaper articles and Facebook page. I suppose I should be flattered.

But the facts are these: Minister Konrad Mizzi and Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne have answered all my questions in parliament about patients in hospital corridors. I have been proven right. Everything I said about patients dying in corridors was correct.

I am not the one who needs to retract anything. It was the families of the patients who died last month who were given a misleading version of what really happened to their loved ones. Shame on you, Minister.

Labour: Not even the dead are safe from its spin.