I think by now it's beyond dispute that Joseph Muscat's roadmap was to pander to a particular radical-liberal lobby to secure a robust majority behind which he and his minions could hide to carry out their business deals.

Rosianne Cutajar - entrusted with the legalisation of prostitution - indulged in private business with Yorgen Fenech. Johann Buttigieg - entrusted with the laissez-faire attitude in the real estate sector - "did not do any business" with Mr Fenech but was probably willing to. Keith Schembri - catalyst extraordinaire - was discussing different types of business with Mr Fenech. Joseph Muscat himself - who even wanted to campaign for the introduction of abortion - invited Mr Fenech to his birthday party at a delicate moment in Mr Fenech's life (to put it mildly) because "ten people run the [Maltese] economy" (among whom Mr Fenech).

It's clear how the triangulation was conceived and executed: the radical-liberals would hand over power to Muscat in exchange for the implementation of their radical agenda (legalisation of prostitution and cannabis-consumption, the introduction of euthanasia and abortion, and who knows what else). At the same time, Muscat and his "people of trust" would make as much hay as the shining sun would allow.

It's also clear that the radical-liberals have been taken for the ride of the century. I'm sure they must be feeling used and abused. If not, they need to look at the mirror and examine their conscience. Did they really need the diabolical pact with Muscat just to achieve their morally questionable goals? Are sex, drugs, and the killing of the terminally ill and the unwanted unborn such lofty ideals that they justify the utter destruction of Malta's international reputation? When Malta's a tiny country that lacks natural resources and depends on ingenuity and an impeccable reputation for its survival...

As this foolish plan unfolded, Robert Abela served as legal advisor to Prime Minister Muscat. Dr Abela has refused to divulge which matters he advised Muscat on even though his role as advisor was a public one. This has raised and keeps raising questions that desperately need an answer: we need to know how much the current Prime Minister knew of the rot that festered under his predecessor's rule, and how much he advised his predecessor on matters relating to that rot. The nature and extent of this ambiguous relationship might explain why Dr Abela is perceived as the puppet and Muscat as the puppet-master.

Dr Abela's weakness of character is now publicly acknowledged. I wonder how members of his Cabinet of Ministers feel about it. Already during the leadership race they had supported his rival, Chris Fearne. Now, they're probably confirming how spot-on their intuition had been back then: Dr Fearne would have made a better Prime Minister. Party delegates should have listened to Ministers and MPs and backed the Health Minister. Instead, the delegates listened to Muscat and followed his "advice", unable to work out that Muscat was (quite evidently) tending to his own and his allies' narrow, personal interests. This wasn't even a case of putting party before country. Sadly, the delegates put demi-god Muscat before country.

But this is the legacy of Mintoffianism. Dom Mintoff - who led the Labour Party for 35 years from 1949 till 1984 - had a clear vision for the country (keeping Malta non-aligned in return for development aid and investment) and had zero confidence in his supporters' discernment.

Mr Mintoff himself said it quite openly in the conclusion to his speech in Parliament in 1995 when reacting to a motion tabled to mark his fiftieth year in that august institution. Writing in February 2014, a few months after Mr Mintoff had passed away, Lino Spiteri summed up his attitude: "He was the undisputed leader of the Labour Party, not known for giving space to mere mortals to make him change his mind, let alone on matters of principle."

Mr Mintoff's authoritarian paternalism became the "corporate" culture of the Labour Party and Muscat exploited it to the full, remorselessly and with unbridled cynicism.

I can only imagine the frustration the members of the Cabinet are going through right now. Not only are they seeing the government crumbling before their eyes because of all the sordid details emerging from the court hearings in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case. They're also seeing the government crumbling because of Dr Abela's weakness of character, and the very obvious difficulties that Chris Fearne's facing in trying to tackle the pandemic crisis mostly due to Dr Abela's political topsy-turvy.

On top of that, the Cabinet members are seeing Opposition Leader Bernard Grech growing in stature as Dr Grech's suggestions on how to deal with the pandemic are wiser and more strategically valid and valuable than Dr Abela's.

My only conclusion's that a sense of disillusionment and disheartenment must be pervading the Cabinet of Ministers. This can be gleaned from the savage attack on Repubblika, that veritable thorn in the government's side. The psychological dynamic behind the baseless attack on the NGO is transparent: attacking Repubblika makes up for the loss of self-confidence permeating the Cabinet on account of Dr Abela's weaknesses.

Disillusionment and disheartenment can also be gleaned from how the talons of confusion have closed on the country's administration in a vice-like grip. Whereas the financial services sector's being paralysed and stymied by an overreaction to the mess Muscat threw the country in (an overreaction meant to impress international observers but which might actually backfire), the real estate sector's running amok, with a senseless scramble to build build build and glut the market. The overdevelopment will soon kill the golden-eggs goose - tourism - as the country's charm gets eroded when the waves of the foolish quest to replace quaint buildings with soulless blocks of ugly apartments crash against it.

For fairness' sake, it's not that all that Robert Abela's done is wrong. For instance, he was absolutely right to assign to that useless and utterly incompetent Owen Bonnici a dead-end ministry comprised of departments that should form part of a larger ministry. But one insightful decision does not a good Prime Minister make. The one-off decision to put Dr Bonnici where he truly belongs doesn't mean that Robert Abela knows what he's doing overall.

The government is sailing in rough seas and facing rogue waves, and its helmsman's feeling dizzy. This is felt not only by the Cabinet of Ministers and observers like yours truly but also by somebody like Desmond Zammit Marmarà.

I like Mr Zammit Marmarà. He gives me the impression he's the honest type of chap, one who calls a spade a spade and who, unlike others in the Labour Party, puts country before party.

Writing elsewhere, Mr Zammit Marmarà opined (my translation):

"Today many Labourites of principle, who worked hard and made sacrifices for the Labour Party [...], are furious when they read in the newspapers that people occupying positions of power had close and secret links with businessmen and even did their best to line their pockets.

"There's also the environment issue. [...] Many Maltese, including many Labourites, are fed up hearing of controversial permits being issued by the Planning Authority even, at times, when residents and Local Councils oppose them. Many Labourites cannot understand how a supposedly left-wing party like Labour can end up becoming one with businessmen. This is a government which prioritises certain powerful lobbies at the expense of the rest of the population. Just consider the Malta Developers Association as an example!

"Then there's the pandemic problem. Many feel the Prime Minister is putting the economy before the people's health. He's hurting people when he's boastful as people consider such tone out of place given how many have died and got infected.

"The Prime Minister needs to convince the people that he'll cut the Labour Party loose from businessmen. He needs to stop defending people in power who are caught entertaining unethical links with businessmen. He needs seriously to protect the environment: no more saying one thing and then doing the opposite. And with regard to the pandemic, yes he needs to take decisions that safeguard jobs and Malta's economy but he also needs to take tough and unpopular decisions if public health so dictates."

Well, Mr Zammit Marmarà, that's a tall order, and, objectively speaking, veteran journalist Renu Bugeja was probably right when, during the leadership race, he rhetorically asked Dr Abela if he wasn't too young for the job.

Mr Zammit Marmarà: country before party! It's crystal clear from what you're saying that the country needs a change of administration. Do the patriotic thing: do your part to bring about that change!

In the meantime, the current situation no longer necessitates resignations, but arrests. The rot is far too deep. We're risking losing everything. Malta has become the reputational soft underbelly of Europe. Again: country before party!

Police Commissioner Michael Cassar resigned when his office received an FIAU report on Keith Schembri. He should have arrested the man, not resign. Now we need strong personalities to arrest office-holders (present or past) who are utterly destroying our country's reputation.

This is fast becoming a matter of life and death for the country.

Maltese Quirks (11)

The Maltese use English for many purposes. In her 1992 book L'Inglese di Malta, Gabriella Mazzon suggests an interesting and highly readable socio-linguistic analysis. On page 70, she writes that Maltese adults switch to English also because of "an element of taboo on certain words and locutions" ("Gli adulti, oltre all'elemento del tabù su alcune parole e locuzioni che fa sì che queste vengano usate in inglese..."). Professor Mazzon noted that to refer to certain notions surrounded by taboo, the Maltese switch to English. The native speaker of Maltese instinctively realises that in particular contexts, the English word is serving the purpose that Professor Mazzon refers to here.

Indeed, every native speaker of Maltese knows that when we have a headache we take a "panadol". I would argue that "panadol" has actually entered the lexicon as it's used instead of "mediċina" to refer to medicine that helps with dizziness and headaches in general. We consider "panadol" not so much a trademark as a Maltese word.

On the other hand, we don't consider "medication" a Maltese word - it's a word in English. Now, if Professor Mazzon is right in her analysis that the Maltese use English words when dealing with certain taboos, the recent use of "medication" by the Prime Minister raises a number of questions. What's the taboo involved here?

Or perhaps I'm completely wrong. Frankly, I detest such analyses, but if there's something wrong with the Prime Minister, I think the Cabinet of Ministers and the electorate ought to be told. It's not a question of prying; it's a question of national interest coming first.