We are at the National Assembly. But we could as well have been at the cinema, courtesy of Siddick Chady, or even at the circus, courtesy of Sylvio Michel? hum, sorry! Roger Lanzac.

Clip Number 1: Mauritius has just lost one of her most illustrious sons, Sir Maurice Rault, former attorney general and former chief justice, among others.

Not a word is uttered by anyone ? be it opposition or government. No tribute, no word of regret, nothing. It is all a power game, you see, why waste time on the dead?

Clip number 2: The prime minister is talking about the commissioner of Rodrigues. He finds it amusing that MP Nicolas Von Mally qualifies Serge Clair as ?self proclaimed emperor of Rodrigues?. Sense of decorum: none.

Clip number 3: ?Serge Clair would not dare interfere in my work. I control the police,? says Paul Bérenger. MP Boolell stands up and asks: ?I?m sorry? Did I hear the prime minister say ?I control the police??? ?You know what I mean,? replies the latter, slightly taken aback. Revealing slip of the tongue, some might call it?

Clip number 4: ?I do not interfere in the everyday running of the police,? states Paul Bérenger. OK, so, maybe every other day. Same as he would like to do to newspapers and radios. ?You should not believe everything you read in newspapers or hear on the radios,? warns the prime minister to the leader of the opposition. Is it because he doesn?t control us?

Clip number 5: ?Sit down!? screams the prime minister to MP Boolell. ?I do not take orders from you!? yells the latter in return. No, it?s not a comic book, just an ordinary session in Parliament.

Clip number 6: Prisons. ?There has been no commissioner of prisons in three years. Only an acting. Actings are no good,? says PM Bérenger with a smug smile. Correction: there was a properly appointed COMMISSIONER of prisons for 3 years ? by the name of Brojmohun.

Clip Number 7: Opposition leader Ramgoolam has ammunition by way of his PNQ. He fails to use it. The PM almost admits the prison authorities misled him. Navin Ramgoolam doesn?t catch on. He repeats the same question over and over again. He gets no proper answer?

Clip Number 8: ?I will not reply to your questions if you don?t sort those madmen out!? Paul Bérenger threatens Navin Ramgoolam. The madmen are the other members of the opposition, all of them ?honorable members.? The tone is the same used when the PM orders the Speaker about.

All this would be really funny if it wasn?t so shameful? If anyone is unsure of the trend our society is taking, one should come and have a look one fine Tuesday morning. The show is free?