SHAME

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the week in which Malta's Labour Government's mask slipped, exposing the hideous face underneath, the face of Raymond Caruana's murderer, the face of the thugs at Tal-Barrani, the face of the criminals within the Police Force who ineptly tried to frame Peter Paul Busuttil, Labour had the nerve to present a motion referring to deficiencies in the Ministry of Justice.

This was clearly nothing but an opportunistic grab at a straw. Justice has never been close to Labour's heart, as a glance at what was happening a mere twenty-five years ago will confirm, and this little stunt does nothing to remove the memories of those days. The two people who presented the motion had nothing to do with what happened then, of course, but many of their colleagues were around at the time and on this, of all days, it would have behoved them to maintain a dignified silence.

But no, the temptation to try to embarrass the Government, because politics the way it's done when the immature play at it consists simply in petty gameplaying, couldn't be overcome. Obviously, Labour's strategists - if they can be dignified with this description - thought they'd be able to capitalise on Dr Franco Debono's outspoken nature, but as usual, they were wrong, because Debono immediately made it clear that his loyalty is to PM and to the Government as, to be fair, he has always made clear.

Not only that: this opportunistic motion proved that, as always, Labour is behind the curve. The ideas for change came from the Government side of the House, front and back benches, with Labour hopping onto the bandwagon as usual, just a few beats after taking a sniff to see which way the wind is blowing.

Of all the horses to ride to war, justice is hardly one that suits Labour.