Envy is the reason for all the fuss being created about the use of vip services

So much fuss is being made on the use of the vip lounge and services by the current cabinet members. As if previous cabinet members did not avail themselves from such facilities as is the norm in such cases.

Besides cabinet members, there was also Richard Cachia Caruana, who I believe is finding it difficult to adapt to normal life. His reign is over.

He is not being driven to and from the aircraft any longer. Like all other common mortals he has to stay in line at the check-in desk, go through security, wait at the lounge upstairs and taken by bus to the aircraft.

Probably he cannot stand the fact that there are Labour cabinet members using the vip and ministerial lounge instead of him. How dare they? he would scream at his closest aids and friends. How dare they use vip facilities in Malta and abroad?

It would not be easy to quantify the tens of times that RCC made use of the Protocol VIP lounges both in Malta and abroad when he traveled between Malta and Brussels or any other country.

During weekdays he used to travel on Mondays and Thursdays and when any Minister was passing through the VIP lounge he used to join and pass from there too using the Ministerial lounges and the Ministerial VIP transport albeit he was not a Minister.

He also availed himself of a car upon disembarkation.

Then there was the flight. It was common for RCC to make a scene on board –

– if no hanger was available in club to hang his coat

– if flight was full and crew packed the seat behind him with hand luggages.

– or if another minister took his preferred seat in row 1A, oh God forbid!

I have witnessed some of these scenes myself on flights to and from Brussels during the short period I served in the European Parliament.

He used to report any Air Malta issues directly to top management and almost all crew abhorred his presence.