Like Humpty Dumpty: Joseph sat on a wall and had a great fall | Frank Camilleri

It was bound to happen. Since his demise from Castille Joseph Muscat has been playing a sort of now you see me, now you don’t game. He would lie low for months and then resurface occasionally to remind people, especially his acolytes, and not least the Prime Minister Robert Abela, that he is still around and a force to be reckoned with.

To many it seemed that he was playing the fiddle from behind the scenes. Muscat was playing a game. He sat on a wall from where he did not want to get involved but at the same time neither did he want to make himself invisible.

Of course, now that we know how entwined the relationship between Prime Minister Robert Abela and Joseph Muscat has been all along, we understand why Muscat was playing this game.

The former PM always felt the need to keep himself in some sort of limelight. Of course, he considered himself not only ‘invictus’ but also adorable. He tried his hand at football, of all things, and introduced a new format for the Premier League, creating controversy among the major football clubs many of which considered it to be unnecessary.

But, there he was sitting on the wall, in his imagination still orchestrating things as in the past, while reflecting on the lost opportunity of occupying a top role in Brussels. He had almost achieved his ambition but failed to understand the damage his relations with Konrad Mizzi and the rest had done to his image and reputation.

He also failed to take into consideration the strong ‘firepower’ David Casa and Roberta Metsola had in the corridors of Brussels.

As a consequence, Joseph Muscat never made it and so Humpty Dumpty who sat on the wall had his first big fall.

This frustrated aspiration must have been a bitter pill for Muscat to swallow.

Roll forward and it seems Muscat had an aspiration to make his way to Brussels through a back door of sorts. He felt the urge to present himself for the election as an MEP candidate on the Labour Party platform. Of course, he never explicitly said so.

It is demeaning for a former prime minister to become an MEP once more and so he left it to others to orchestrate the way forward for him, in the hope of creating the perception that it is the people who are pushing him into this decision.

Meanwhile, Muscat sat on the wall as momentum built up until MEP Alex Agius Saliba invited him to address his campaign launch at Pjazza Tritoni. Muscat still did not pronounce his candidacy as he left people guessing.

But suddenly it all backfired.

Joseph Muscat must have got wind of the impending magisterial inquiry and the potential criminal charges coming his way. He did not file his candidacy.

Once more, Humpty Dumpty had another big fall.

When the charges against him were formally filed, Muscat was left reeling against those who could have done something to stop this but failed to do so. It was a cryptic message, very likely directed towards Robert Abela.

And yet, Humpty Dumpty had another fall.

Muscat stands charged with fraud, money laundering, corruption and a freezing order of €30 million hanging over his head.

Ever since resigning from prime minister, Joseph Muscat has been a millstone around Robert Abela’s neck. He is not someone Abela can easily shake off since Muscat still commands strong loyalty among a substantial number of Labour supporters.

Abela’s best bet is to find ways to somehow get himself rid of Muscat’s hold on him and the party. The conclusions of the Vitals magisterial Inquiry could provide Abela with the chance to do so.

One would expect Abela to adopt a double strategy: On the one hand to praise Joseph Muscat and make strong pretence to be defending him in public while at the same time hoping that Muscat be kept on the leash by the judicial authorities.

It is the et tu Brute policy, which if properly managed, should work well for Abela, since he will get the best of both worlds. He will keep enjoying the support of the pro-Muscat supporters while quietly getting rid of his partner in the infamous patt imxajtan from four years ago.

Basically, it means that while Humpty Dumpty is still on the floor, Abela will be doing his best to keep him there.