“I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens.” ― Woody Allen. Sound the retreat. 

It is not unusual to have around us those who prefer to shrink into the relative comfort of not knowing, not seeing and not being.  It makes life that much easier.  If we do not see and do not know then we are not responsible and if we are not living as conscious minds then we are free from all the emotional heat.  On the lines of, ‘If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen’.  Put simply, don't take on a job if you are unwilling to face its pressures. This saying was a favourite of President Harry S. Truman.

As multiple fronts open up around Joseph Muscat, it is becoming clear that his habitual response is to beat a retreat.  Whether he is brushing off, after months and weeks too, his part in the Lands department scandal by claiming that he only got to know about the matter from the media or when he just relinquishes all leadership, all standards and all advice in having no objection to his advisor writing a blog as though he were just an ordinary citizen with no public role, in his own office, no less, then we can only conclude that all energy is gone and he just does not want to be there anymore. 

Either that or else he perceives his staff, members of Parliament and cabinet as being so insignificant that they have no impact whatsoever on his sphere.  Especially, it seems, now that he has Konrad Mizzi to take the heat and fight his battles for him.  It makes you wonder if Mizzi is quite aware of the position he has been put in, the pact that has been crafted.

What may have been seen as a two-man job, is, more likely, a further means for Joseph to escape the reality around him and have his castle to himself whilst despatching his general to protect the realm.  Now we learn that he has no problem with his deputy party leader having a personal financial set-up which does not bear up to scrutiny.  We are given the impression that daily routine, work, service may come as a nuisance and a distraction from the important job of being Joseph, as so many incidents remain unscrutinised, undisciplined and without serious comment, as with the outburst in parliament and crude attack by MP Debono Grech or statements from here and there that do no good. 

The only conclusion we can draw is that the media is seen as a force of intrusion to keep away at all costs, whilst the Opposition is the cause of all stress and the bringer of all bad things and those who can, do, without worry of consequence or effect on the Prime Minister himself, his office and the standards of public service.

And if that were not enough, now even shepherds from Gozo have made a path to his door.  There is a policeman guarding this shepherd’s flock and still he is shouting across the water.  “I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was” – Marilyn Monroe. 

Others too now have caught on to the practice of denial.  Could it be the Justice Minister is disappointed in some way at having been upstaged by Konrad Mizzi?  Or could it be that he senses he can go the opposite way of running and instead maintain an argument till he is blue at the gills?  Is he doing a Boris Johnson and seeking an ill-judged personal advantage?  To each his own, it would seem.

More with the Minister for Transport. “I am what I am an’ I’m not ashamed. ‘Never be ashamed,’ my ol’ dad used ter say, ‘there’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth bothern’ with.’”  — Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

No matter the protests from the public or the audacious terms for Autobus de Leon to our detriment, the man still would have us believe that he is doing a fine job with never a word of contradiction from above.

Let’s not exclude the Minister for Gozo who also waves his magic wand at the air.  There may be magic in the air but everyone sees the enemy approaching, bringing that dark and heavy sense of doom and gloom like a bad disease.

But those, who, like Gianni Attard, the shepherd from Gharb, are quite clear about the consequences of the threat they are facing, will not hesitate to speak out and say it like it is.  People like Gianni are not fooled.  Many Maltese people are turning to Gozo to spend their weekends or holidays there.  If there is even just one Gianni Attard there, it is enough to give a boost to one’s spirit and clear the environment of some of the web of lies and masks.  Maybe that’s why they do carnival well in Gozo.  They see through the masks.

However, it is still early in the course of this administration, to put their head in the sand and avoid every controversy or scandal like it was not happening.  Especially not now, when the public would expect to see results delivered, to feel positive and optimistic about the future of the country and their own prospects.  And yet, we are becoming accustomed to this life, this shadow of what could be.  We have had a warm winter and did not need too many coats or umbrellas.  Yet, that sense that we have missed something prevails in our subconscious.  Nature has been denied.  The normal way of things has been subverted. 

Say what he may, hide as he would, anyone who persists in avoiding a job or facing facts, is not worth their salt.  Much of this has already penetrated the Labour fold and their keen sense of the order of needs is creating nervousness and anxiety, lest they be forgotten.  Something tells them that all is not well in the Shire.  "I should like to know about risks, out-of-pocket expenses, time required and remuneration, and so forth"— by which he meant: "What am I going to get out of it and am I going to come back alive?" – The Hobbit.   In reply to a recent admonishing on their grumbling and complaining, they too may reply – “No doubt we shall feel properly grateful when we are fed and recovered.'"

And so the days go by and doubt sets in.  We may think ourselves odd or different because of that nagging feeling of contradiction in our mind but we are not alone.  Whether for honour or for promise, the time of reckoning will strike.  For one reason or another we all shall have our Gianni moment and point the finger.

Times have changed and people have changed too.  Europe is everywhere around us, from the papers we fill in for all sorts of applications, to the projects that keep our businesses going to the workers in our hotels and shops and in the news on our television and computer.  Time is not standing still and neither should we.  There is no place for mediocrity and ways of old.  People expect good service and proper standards.  We are also aware of the fate of those places where a dynasty ruled and it is not a happy one.  A ruler may appear popular in a dynasty but the pressure is constant and not fun at all. 

It is difficult to see how the Prime Minister can remain untainted and not draw disapproval onto himself, by remaining aloof and ignoring the damage happening around him.  People are not puppets.