It could be so funny, were it not so sad

The De Marco family issued a press statement this week condemning the Labour Party for suggesting that their Guido was implicated in the attempted murder of Richard Cachia Caruana.

But not a single word was uttered about what Cachia Caruana had to say about Guido himself. Certainly, they cannot ignore the fact that Cachia Caruana did not exactly have nice words for Guido. Certainly, they cannot forget what Cachia Caruana's close friend and blogger had to say when Guido's funeral was taking place.

And yet, the De Marco family chose to love the party more than the memory of Guido and say nothing. The man who everyone knew did not get on with Guido de Marco survived any commentary from the family. Reading through those two paragraphs from his autobiography one can get a feeling of what Guido thought about Cachia Caruana.

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Needless to say, the Times, under the strong influence of guess who, chose not to refer to the audio transcripts but of course found the time and space to replicate the press statement from the de Marco family on the transcripts.

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Labour MP Joe Mizzi has suggested and alleged that a cocaine party on a boat was botched by police incompetence or rather by an intentional police decision (when he was minister in the Alfred Sant government). Somehow, Cachia Caruana got embroiled in this allegation. Now, everybody knows that there's no love lost between Cachia Caruana and myself, but to accuse him of having intervened to stop the police from pouncing on a cocaine party boat is not only far-fetched, but also dangerous.  Worse still, Mizzi is unwilling to tell us more, simply because he thinks that everything he says is the Gospel truth. Well Mr Mizzi, you can't cast a stone and then simply run away.

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Needless to say, I do not believe that the police are not told what to do by leading members of the government.  It is not the first time that I have been approached by police officers who confirmed with me that they had been ordered to 'monitor' political individuals by the powers that be.  Not drug traffickers, not money launderers, not paedophiles but politically-oriented individuals. Someone will come forward, you just wait and see, but as things stand today, everyone is petrified that if they provide hard evidence they are effectively toast.

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President George Abela finally issues a statement after being pestered by the MediaToday offices for a comment.  He would have been better off if he said nothing at all.  Every statement I have seen by the President's office has either impressed for being ill timed or else completely at a tangent to what is expected from him. He is right in saying that constitutionally he need not intervene.  But nothing precludes the President for showing interest in the local political situation. The very fact that he is away from the island on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and facing the Pacific Ocean in Peru makes it all the more bizarre.  

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It would be useful to point out why former Socialist minister Lino Spiteri writes the way he writes. When he was associated with the Labour Party, he was the most hated minister of all, after Lorry Sant and Joe Grima. And yet as we all know, if you decide to hit out against your family (the Labour Party), you are promised eternal redemption by the Nationalist Party. But Spiteri has become predictable. We call him an ex-Socialist minister, but his links to big business are so huge that I really wonder if socialism is just a convenient term to distinguish you from the crowd.

Way back in 1986 I questioned his socialist credentials and paid dearly for it. Since then Lino Spiteri has stood up for people such as Bertu Mizzi, the Tumas group and now Cachia Caruana. If he were more accessible, we should be asking the question: why? Very few politicians learn from the icons of the last century. When German foreign minister Genscher decided to leave politics voluntarily after 18 years in politics he promised not to get embroiled in political controversy or comment on it. Perhaps Spiteri should go back to writing novels. He would be more credible.

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I guess that is what happens when you leave the security of your premises in the hands of Ernest Tonna - one of Austin Gatt's finest acolytes. The first time Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando arrived at the PN HQ accompanied by two giants he was greeted by Mr Tonna the man with multiple jobs thanks to his exceptional vocation in doing more than one job at a time. Next to Tonna, for all to see, not only did we have Censu l-Iswed but Tonio Zampa, another colourful figure who could tell us a story or two about not being upright in life. The PN did learn from mistakes and the second time round Pullicino Orlando visited the PN HQ (to allow himself to be trounced by the executive committee) Ernest Tonna was all nicely dressed minus the illustrious figures from the underworld.

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Pullicino Orlando has agreed to continue to support government, on the condition that he is consulted on matters which were not outlined in the electoral programme.

He also warned the PM that more attacks on him from the queen of bile and In-Nazzjon would make his life very difficult. Sooner rather than later, the Queen of Bile announced that she would not be messing around with Pullicino Orlando. There is of course no connection between Castille and the Medusa. None at all - it's all really one big coincidence.

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Pullicino Orlando's main interest is, of course, not to end up being blamed for calling an early election. He believes that this is very important for his biographical notes. 

As if people care. He thinks that historians are going to forget about Mistra or his role in the introduction of divorce. On the other hand, Gonzi has proven for the umpteenth time that he has no self-respect. He intends to hang on, even if this means depending on the benevolence of one MP. The same MP he banned from standing again with his party. Gonzi is not only maimed but unfit to lead the Nationalist Party into any general election.

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All Nationalists know that they don't have a chance of winning with Gonzi at the helm. They also know that no one has the gall to question Gonzi. Because the clique controls State TV, the blog bile machine and the Times. No one has the sense to stand up and say: "Dr Gonzi, it's over, you've lost your authority, it's time to move on, to make way for a new face, for someone who will unite the party and raise morale."  All Nationalists know that this decision will derail the Labour campaign and the chances for a massive victory at the polls. But as I have said before - and I will say it again - Gonzi is interested in retaining power at all costs.

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But is there a clique? Of course there is. One that is only interested in staying in power because it makes sense for many of them personally.  But there are also many who are bound to lose if Gonzi moves out of the scene.

The political patronage created by Gonzi provides fiscal security for dozens of people, many of whom will be far worse off without Gonzi.

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Which is why, nobody in the Nationalist party is standing up to be a Heseltine and suggest that the time has come for a new leader. Someone who will put the interests of the nation and that of the party before his or her personal agenda. Someone who will refuse to bow his or her head to a coalition of sorts and face the electorate now. Before the haemorrhage spreads further... and uncontrollably.