There’s always going to be a Citizen Bogdanovic. It’s the perverse effect of Tagħna Lkollism acting as a steroid on an already corrupt system designed to promote nepotism. Citizen Bogdanovic was lucky enough to be able to bypass any form of fealty test that precedes the dipping of one’s hands in the proverbial trough. 

Instead his connection was of a more direct kind of tryst with benefits, having allegedly hooked up with a Minister of the State. The direct connection, when discovered, makes his unmeritorious milking of public funds all the more scandalous and yet it is no different to the situation in which thousands of other unmeritorious Citizens find themselves. More of this later.

I type this article out as a veritable smokescreen envelops the island. If you’ll excuse my cheap pun, the news of the legalisation of recreational cannabis must be working wonders to distract from the real issues that should be topping the agenda.

The grey listed state is about to don some Carribean colours as it hedges its bets on a rather different sort of attractiveness. The abortion debate slips into oblivion as the new red rag waved in the eyes of the masses takes the shape of a fragrant leaf of the wonder plant.

Thankfully, Christmas has been saved from the thralls of the evil cancel-culturists who had almost stuffed an inexistent law down our throats. Helena Dalli would do well to light up a big one and puff some smoke in the direction of the man who called her the Cretin of Malta, the smoke might last long enough to make people forget her blunder of blunders when she attacked Baby Jesus’ Birthday Celebrations full front.

So, armed with quality weed and a bundle of Christmas cards, we hazily look back at Citizen Bogdanovic and the army of other citizens gainfully employed by or contracted to the government without an ounce of merit. Then you wonder why the polls say what they say.

Since Labour came into government 10,000 new employees have been added to the civil service. That’s 10,000 Citizen Bogdanovic’s added to the public payroll while the Head of the Civil Service, I remind you, derides the Ombudsman’s criticism of the government’s abuse of the ‘persons of trust’.

Up in the dizzier heights of the gravy ladder, the unaccountable dinosaurs roam unabashedly – primus inter pares being Konrad Mizzi. As Robert Abela celebrated the passing of his Smoke Laws, a National Audit Office report recounted how the Buffoon formerly known as Energy Minister had refused to meet it to discuss the shady Vitals deal. Presumably the Buffoon’s elaborate power point listing his achievements for the citizens of the land had not been finalised at that moment.

Another dinosaur still evading the long arm of justice is the disgraced ex-Commissioner of the EU John Dalli. We were told this week that the Commission has ‘chosen to waive the immunity’ (sic) which Dalli supposedly enjoyed. I will not bore you with legal banter, but a couple of ECJ judgments might beg to differ with the Commission’s assessment in that there was no immunity to be waived in the first place.  

The Priveleges and Immunities of employees of the Union clearly apply to acts in performance of their duty. In this case there is no immunity that needs to be waived. The Public Prosecutor’s obfuscation and delay in the case are yet another example of deliberate procrastination and sticks thrown into the wheels of justice. Smoke. More smoke. It’s everywhere. 

Listening to a history podcast this week I heard an historian observe that during times of chaos and strife a large part of the population is still going on happily with their life. They are not oblivious to what is going on, but they do not feel affected directly.

In our case we already seem to be comfortably numb to the fact that corrupt dealings at all levels of administration run our lives. I spoke last week of the Stockholm Syndrome – we are beholden to the clan that holds our state captive. Either comfortably numb or too enthralled by the power of the network of Citzens.

Smoke. It’s all we needed. Citizen Bogdanovic and his like will be thanking their lucky stars.