Marlene Farrugia's resignation from the Labour Party reverberated around the country.
It was gripping news no matter where and how you picked it up. It was, however, interesting to see events unfold in Parliament, and observe the atmosphere in which Farrugia was clearly moving, from one intervention to the next, towards resignation.
On Tuesday, Parliament began to debate the splitting up of what we know as Mepa. The focus was on the Environment Authority and its modus operandi. Marthese Portelli and Ryan Callus meticulously prepared amendments to the bill presented in Parliament by the Environment Minister, Leo Brincat.
It was evident from the start that we were in for a very long debate and that Marlene Farrugia had no intention of letting go.
I couldn't help noticing that the government side kept passing remarks and cracking jokes. I interpreted it as a silly schoolboy attempt to cover the underlying tension, which increased every time Marlene intervened.
At one point, she referred to the PL as the "party I form part of till now". A few moments later, it was, "till today".
The Prime Minister, who was present throughout, pretended to be busy on his phone. But he blushed on both occasions and arrogantly smiled and lifted his shoulders.
I think it was at this point that Marlene walked briskly out of the main chamber. She returned later with blank papers in hand and sat down to write her letters of resignation.
The debate went on and Marlene voted with the Opposition. The government side fumed silently but the facial expressions were obvious and clear. Some were angry, some were hurt. Some tried to hide their feelings while some overdid it.
In his comments when leaving Parliament, Muscat tried to smile as though one less does not matter to him. He passed a comment along the lines that Marlene is an independent thinker and he too is an independent thinker. Really? Independent as opposed to what? Is Muscat implying that all the rest of those around him are dependent thinkers?
In seeking to cover up his embarrassment, he ended up insulting the rest of his group. He might as well have called them sheep!
The issue of transparency and the environment is the main immediate reason for Marlene Farrugia's outburst, votes and resignation. But there could be more to it.
She has now become an independent MP. Of course this does not mean that Joseph Muscat's government has lost its majority but it certainly means the "movement", Muscat's flagship for the last election, has begun to lose its credibility from within. Now it's official.
Muscat's shine has begun to fade. In less than three years, Muscat is beginning to look weaker and more vulnerable than the invincible leader we saw in March 2013. Seven months ago (24 April, 2015), in this column, I had predicted that "Muscat's very own hubris may be his own downfall and that of his party." Time will tell.
Not fit for purpose
On Wednesday night, Konrad Mizzi hardly looked the part as he debated the privatisation of our health system on Dissett. The usually confident minister was hardly fit for purpose.
Reno Bugeja did not treat the minister with velvet gloves and did his job well. The programme brought to light some very important points.
First, Mizzi admitted that the government has not signed the agreement with the preferred bidder. It has no clear timeline as to when this will happen.
Second, the workers' unions are not trusting the government. They are pushing the minister to sign a memorandum of understanding binding him to keep his promises.
Third, it is also now very clear that the medical school in Gozo cannot rely on the hospital services offered exclusively at the Gozo hospital. This means that Barts has to use Mater Dei hospital to train its students. This will obviously have an effect on the patients at Mater Dei and on the Malta Medical School run by the University of Malta.
Finally, some of my longstanding PQs have been answered. Well done, Minister, you have managed to add a stronger sense of insecurity among our people and this story is hardly over. What next?