‘Mhux fair, ħi’ sums up the official story about our grey-listing by the FATF. Many feared it, and many more groaned in pain when the news was confirmed. “We’re fucked,” was a much used phrase.
The point is disaster does not happen when you fall in a hole. Disaster strikes when you realise that you’re in the hole with Owen Bonnici.
“Malta will keep succeeding,” Owen Bonnici gloats like the Monty Python diner supremely confident he can eat another mint.
Even now, for Owen Bonnici, it is time for utterly unjustified, mindless optimism and self-congratulation. Enjoying the same trust level as Yemen and Zimbabwe is, for Owen Bonnici, a success. Which means there’s more where that’s coming from. What fresh reasons to celebrate the best of times is he looking forward to now? Banishment from Eden? An extinction level incident? Our sun going prematurely supernova?
While you were worrying about the impact of grey-listing on the viability of your household, Owen Bonnici had a fun night out at the book launch of Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s auto-biography. I suppose a good way of soothing crippling self-loathing is to spend an evening listening to the story of the life of one of the few people on the planet even less useful than you are.
Look at that happy face. Now you’re fucked.