We saw this week a vision of the future, and it doesn’t look good at all.

We must go beyond the facts as they are told us (or rather, as they come from the spinning machine) and understand what has really happened and the implications for the future.

So this week saw the end of Rosianne Cutajar stay in Cabinet. It was masked by being doled out in stages.

Of course it could, should, have been over in seconds, in any other government. But that’s not how things are done here, or were done, as we shall see.

They must have thought that a temporary self-exclusion from Cabinet would suffice. The scandal would be over in a matter of days and she could come back, smelling of roses. Public opinion would have forgotten what the fuss was about and would be focusing on some other issue.

But it was not to be. Very much against his wishes, (for she was one of his supporters in the leadership contest) Robert Abela was forced to cut her loose. She was not going to go back to Cabinet and her ministerial responsibilities were given to someone else.

She is still an MP and says she will still contest the election.

What has changed? In other times, a report by the Commissioner For Standards in Public Life would certainly not have had such consequences.

But this time there’s FATF and Malta has been grey-listed. Robert Abela is no longer the (unelected) sovereign of this country. He now has to answer to FATF. And mustering as bad grace as possible and hiding the dethronement from the gullible supporters, he gave in.

There will be others. Lists have already been drawn up and published, though of course, there’s nothing official. Is this some crazy witch-hunt? No, it is the inevitable consequence of grey-listing.

Malta can of course do nothing of the sort and let Joseph Muscat, Konrad Mizzi and so many others roam free. Why, it may even let Rosianne Cutajar come back.

But then Malta will remain grey-listed. These people have dug themselves in a hole, and us with them.

FATF will not tell Abela what he must do. It will only analyse what is done or not done and regulate accordingly.

Now don’t expect all this to be reflected in the next opinion poll on pro-government media. Though I’m sure, writing at noon on Friday, that right now there are many who are thoroughly aghast at the new spike in Covid infections brought about by students of English attracted to Malta by a €300 incentive and massive unprofessionalism shown by all those the students met in Malta beginning with delays at a crowded airport and all the way to crowds at the beaches inadequately policed.

We had been congratulating ourselves that our numbers were down to zero while Boris Johnson was kicking out all restrictions and allowing massive crowds at Wembley Stadium spreading beer, sweat and Covid.

Our government was looking proud of itself after it removed Julia Farrugia Portelli from Minister of Tourism after a reopening that collapsed and a mass party that spread Covid but then it appointed Clayton Bartolo who came up with the €300 incentive.

As it is, with 96 new cases announced on Friday our spike reverberates that of Britain, now up to 32,500 a day. People, long walled in and locked down, are very, very angry. They get fined for not wearing a mask but can see tourists and students not bothering with one.

Malta is out of control and FATF can only act retrospectively if at all. All the efforts of the past months look to have been in vain and the greed of the few thwarts the home and house interests of the many.

And we have yet to add the ravages of an unbridled construction industry and those of a roads department out to cut down all the trees in its way.

Now go and give him a 40,000 majority.

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