When one organises an event they ought not to expect the rest of the country to clear their decks. At around 7.30pm of the 16th of every month since October 2017, civil society organisations and groups have gathered in Republic Street, Valletta to renew their protest after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The 16th of July is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valletta so as happened last year, the vigil this year will be shorter and start and finish earlier than usual. The gathering is called for 6 pm and is expected to be over within 30 minutes.

For this July the schedule for the event has been announced several days ago.

Since then the Secretary-General of the Partit Nazzjonalista has called an extraordinary meeting of the party’s Executive Committee for 6.30pm on the 16th of July. Presumably, Mr Clyde Puli was not planning to attend the vigil demanding truth and justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia this Tuesday. Such a thing has always been beneath his dignity. He never thought it is appropriate for the secretary-general of a party with a long tradition of human rights to participate in civil society’s protest demanding the truth is known and justice is served after the assassination of a journalist.

So he didn’t put it in his diary for tomorrow.

One assumes that he had forgotten about the event altogether when he emailed members of the party’s executive committee insisting the meeting would start at 6.30pm sharp.

He assumed that all members concerned about his own manipulation of the question put to the General Council demanding Adrian Delia’s resignation would want to be at the Executive Committee meeting on time. If he’s forgotten about the vigil for Daphne, he would not be trying to force a choice on people who would want to be at both events.

Something similar happened last September. On the 16th September, the PN organised a speaking event for Adrian Delia announcing the time of the event after organisers of the vigil in Valletta had announced the time for their own event. A choice was forced that day on many people but the stakes this time round are higher.

Clyde Puli knows that. Adrian Delia’s is not the only job on the line. It would be awfully nice if he shifted the start of tomorrow’s key meeting by 15 minutes. Wanna bet?