Did PN leader’s car-free example double his carbon footprint?

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil donned a bike helmet, sunglasses, and left his jacket home to go to work… on his bicycle.

Busuttil arrived at the PN headquarters in Pietà after cycling all the way from his Lija residence in a message for car-free day, encouraging commuters to make use of alternative means of transport.

“Riding the bicycle to work not only reduces traffic congestion but is also beneficial for our health,” Busuttil said in a statement issued by the PN.

His environmentally-friendly gesture carried one snag: apart from the vehicle used to film his bike ride out of Lija and along Malta’s busy roads (traffic is a political bugbear that the Opposition is keen to point out as a failing of the Labour government), the PN’s promotional clip features another vehicle following Busuttil.

So that’s one car-free day… with a car and a motorcycle. And Labour elves were quick to pick on Busuttil by posting stills of his footage on social media, of the car following Busuttil around.

But – let’s be clear – Busuttil does set the example for the rest of us when many a transport minister refused to forgo their chauffeur-driven car for car-free day. Will Joe Mizzi catch the bus to work?