I suppose somebody must have a word with the workers who are engaged in preparing the most solemn hall of the country for its solemn State functions.

It's not enough for them to ensure that the seating in the Sala tal-Gran Kunsill (in British times The Hall of St Michael and St George) in the Presidential Palace are aligned in straight rows.

They must also ensure there is enough space between them for personal comfort for the august bodies.

To prove my point, see the TVM shot of the first row at last week's Republic Day Conferment of Honours ceremony.

It showed, starting from the right, the prime minister and Mrs Abela sitting quite comfortably next to each other, but then the Speaker is sitting quite squashed next to the Archbishop. My sympathy to the Speaker for this corporal punishment inflicted upon him. And to the archbishop too.

Other than that, I could not but remark that black seemed the preferred colour for ladies, from the President of the Republic, for obvious reasons, to Mrs Abela. The exception was Sarah Bajada accompanying Alex Borg, the Leader of the Opposition, though her dark green outfit was ... still dark.

Others have commented on the omissions and commissions in the President's speech, how she seemed to notice the glaring problem facing young people trying to buy a house but then turned a deaf ear to the immense scandal of her minister for housing who seems to have a knack for providing himself with multiple high end houses even abroad.

But then what do we expect from a Head of State who had just passed through Republic Street with nary a glance let alone a sign of respect in the direction of the Daphne shrine?

I warn Alex Borg: the country expects to see some backbone from him when the prime minister tries to slip in a carefully primed Chief Justice. The signs are already there, starting from the Honours List itself. Al buon intenditor...

The Opposition (under a different leader) has already showed how malleable it can be when it came to choose this Head of State.

Ceteris paribus (you see, Bocca, others can use Latin like you).

I wish all readers A Merry Xmas.

History note 

The south east of Malta and its defence 

There were escalating Moorish attacks.

The Hafsids of Tunisia took revenge on Gozo in 1389 following Manfred Chiaramonte's assault on Djerba with vessels that had left from Malta.

The damage caused was nothing compared to the devastation left behind by Qa'id Ridwan's tragic invasion of 1429, when a horde of 18,000 Moors pushed their aggression to the walls of Mdina and carried off into slavery no less than 3,000 Maltese.

Again, this was in retaliation for the Aragonese attack on Kerkenna.

This tit-for-tat repeated itself right down to the assault on the southeast of Malta in 1614, including the massive invasions of 1551 and 1565 which intended to take over the Maltese islands completely.

Stanley Fiorini 

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