I do not foretell the future but in my mind I doubt very much that if at the end Prime Minister Robert Abela proposes the name of Chris Fearne to be Malta’s next European Commissioner, that will be an instant shoo-in.

At present and for the past few years Malta has not been in the EU’s good books, fully and unjustly proving right those who opposed Malta’s membership bid.

In all these 20 years of membership Malta has not contributed anything of substance to the community.

The only Maltese who made a name in the EU was, and is, Roberta Metsola, and she was definitely not proposed by the Valletta government. On the contrary, she was and still is opposed by the governing party with a virulence reminiscent of the previous government of Poland.

Apart from Metsola, Malta keeps making a name for itself in the EU for all the wrong reasons – for running up a debt mountain in just a few years, for obstinately going against EU rules on hunting, for being among the last countries to impose and implement sanctions against Russia after the invasion of the Ukraine, and (a bilateral one this) for squandering huge and unprecedented EU funds to build new roads that were not really needed. Etc, etc.

If and when Fearne’s name comes up for the EU Parliament scrutiny I very much fear Malta’s bad name will not be of any help.

Then there is Fearne the man himself especially in the context of the €400 million hospital heist – the one described by Fearne himself as ‘the real deal’, the one he voted for in Parliament, the one he was powerless to stop and block and which he was powerless to stop when he and no other was the Minister for Health.

Then there is the man himself, the minister who allowed his subordinate to commandeer a package far better than his own. And her young daughter to get promoted far above her years and ability when just out of university.

When Fearne’s name comes up there will surely be those who will point out that not only is he the deputy prime minister and deputy leader of the governing party but also was the only rival in the leadership stakes so that if at the end he is proposed to the European Council it could be perceived as Abela promoting him to get rid of him – ‘promoveatur ut amoveatur’.

For those with a moderate grasp of history, this would not be the first time that Malta played this trick on the EU. Remember when for practically the same reason Lawrence Gonzi proposed John Dalli?

I remember well – I was with Louis Grech and also the present Minister for Justice – when Dalli walked in midway in a speech by Manoel Barroso and how Barroso reacted to this interruption. By the next morning Dalli was out.

He stormed and huffed, sued the EU, moved over to the Opposition and was welcomed by Joseph Muscat.

The rest of the EU saw, watched and reflected. Maybe the coming vote will tell us what they really think of us.

And in all this the EU might well ask: but what do the Maltese themselves think of the Fearne candidacy?

The present Labour administration will undoubtedly be in favour – he is from the party and there is a party solidarity at work.

I have not heard the Nationalist Opposition declare itself (but would not be completely surprised if it were to vote in support like they did when Robert Abela came up with the rabbit in the hat and proposed Myriam Spiteri Debono).

I must make clear I have nothing personal against him. He was always civil with me especially the last time he came to our house in the pre-electoral round of house visits.

But as an insignificant member of the Maltese public I dare express my opinion that perhaps we could do better.

Is it not enough that case after case we send to Europe is turned down? And that we have had former Chief Justices, no less, turned down because they were not thought competent enough?

The benchmark is too low in such a small jurisdiction. Which brings me to conclude in a way that now appears in all its clarity: imagine if in 2004 we decided otherwise and chose to remain all on our own.

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