He straddles the whole world like a Colossus, hogging the limelight, being in the news multiple times a day, all the time at the most controversial.

At the same time there has never been a time when the leader of the most important country this side of the world was so universally reviled. The entire Arab world reviles him as the sole defender of Israel. He is now intervening in Nigeria, Venezuela and other countries - every day a new war. 

In his country he is bringing on a reign of terror aimed at the illegals forgetting that America is the country built by the illegals of all times.

I do not remember a US President so universally reviled, not even Richard Nixon. Only his supporters, if at all, and the Netanyahu core support Trump.

The sculpture that describes him best is the Laocoon which is in the Vatican.

The more we get to know about him, the more repugnant he appears. His blunt, sexist reply to the reporter from Bloomberg his guest on Air Force One "Quiet, Piggy" broadcast on live TV is a case in point.

Worse is the deluge of emails from the Epstein lode, the stories of unprotected sex forced on underage teenagers, which has already brought down the former Prince Andrew.

The issue facing the entire world is what to make of Trump as long as he's not kicked out by the American voters - oppose him or support him? This is crucial in the case of the Ukraine where Russia, despite the ongoing strenuous defence by the Ukrainian forces, is winning by its sheer numbers and where Trump has been less than loyal in his support. 

Thus has the world become dependent on the inner complications of a flawed character. 

The recent resounding victory by the Muslim Zohran Mamdani over Trump's candidate which gave New York its first Muslim mayor has shown the rest of the world a way forward. 

That is the way of democracy and those who intend to move on must learn the lessons.

Here in Malta it would seem the only lesson being learnt is that of numbers, just numbers. Hence the running after numbers especially the young. Freshers Week at the University is a case in point as are the numerous graduation ceremonies.

Alex Borg, being younger, has an advantage here over Robert Abela despite the visits to the gym by the latter. But that's not enough, as Borg admitted after the MaltaToday survey showed him as coming just 7,000 short of Abela.

Today we will be getting the other survey. It has taken them two weeks to get it done. We will have a week to haggle about numbers.

There are pockets of disagreement on both sides and a certain amount of insubordination too while the issue of the three hospitals and the €800 million spent for nothing festers on. Clutching at straws the government side focuses on Jeremy Harbinson who after being paid a princely sum is refusing to testify in the case.

There's friendly fire on both sides - Minister Clyde Caruana admitting in a parliamentary reply that the former secretary of the Air Malta board is still being paid €5,000 a month when the airline itself has long bitten the dust (He was also the one who said Nyet to the tunnel chimera between Malta and Gozo).

On the other hand Adrian Delia is still on a rampage on the issue of the three hospitals, with more reason, one must admit. At least we have been spared more shenanigans in Parliament.

Note of history 

Getting to know the enemy: Hospitaller Malta's intelligence network in the early 17th Century 

By Ivan Grech

In the Turkish Historical Review 2018

This article reconstructs Hospitaller Malta's principal intelligence collection, particularly during the magistracy of Alof de Wignacourt.

During this period Malta evolved from a medieval Spanish fief into an early modern state.

Malta's accumulation of information about the Ottomans enhanced its prestige and relevance within Christendom, rendering the island's precarious equilibrium on the Catholic -Muslim divide an opportunity towards the acquisition of a superior international stature.

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