Outwardly we see almost nothing of the indoor drama within the Labour Party. But sometimes we do get signs.
Labour Party grandees are lining up to beg Joseph Muscat to forego his innate humility and stay on as party leader and prime minister. Alfred Sant joined that particular fray now.
The scene is as contrived as Buckingham begging Richard to take the crown while Richard pretends to prefer a life of religious contemplation.
Joseph Muscat needs to find a way of staying on as party leader. Which is why he’s organising an extended mise en scene to make it look like he reluctantly accepted a call of duty.
The reality is his plans have all gone awry. He has no cleansing EU job to go to. Even at the PES meeting in Portugal, where he was cheered as the darling of a party whose options have run as dry as an orphanage of 17-year-olds, Joseph Muscat was reminded that wherever he goes there will always be a woman heckling him and reminding him of his lack of shame.
There weren’t many Ana Gomeses in that Lisbon hall. There was only the one. “Vergonha” she hackled him. That much Portuguese I know. Joseph Muscat pretended he didn’t.
He might console himself with the idea there aren’t that many women willing to stand up in a crowded room to confront him. But he despairs knowing there will always be one.
He now feels he has no choice but to stay on for as long as possible behind the safety of the Castille doors.
He will need security guards to thump pesky journalists like John Sweeney in the chest. He will need Valletta pensioners under lieutenant-general Ray Azzopardi to harangue protesters in Great Siege Square. He will need Lawrence Cutajar to spook everyone but him of ongoing investigations that always vaguely threaten to change course as they inexorably hurtle towards the void.
He will need Carmelo Abela to tell lobbyists working for international NGOs that they are assholes for daring to doubt him.
And he will need to wait out the storm he has always believed would pass and still desperately hopes so. The golden boy who has always been lucky expects his luck to turn back in his favour any time.
In the meantime, we read today that Chris Fearne has ordered Neville Gafa’ fired. Apart from the fact that in view of what we read that is nothing short of common sense, it really opens up a long list of questions which Chris Fearne clearly does not mind provoking.
Is Neville Gafa’ still a public officer or is he completely unemployed?
Are the police and the security services debriefing him on his apparent relationship with a Libyan militiaman and smuggling warlord?
Has an inquiry into what Neville Gafa’ was up to while in public employ been started?
And then Chris Fearne opens up with this move a set of questions that are far bigger than Neville Gafa’.
How far is Chris Fearne prepared to go to detach himself from the rot and the corruption that Joseph Muscat is sitting on?
Just how uncomfortable must Joseph Muscat be feeling now about leaving his office and walking away from a spring he cannot keep tense from beyond his political sunset?