If we were to go by the childhood ‘three corners equal a penalty’ way of looking at things, then Labour on Wednesday totted up three corners which could in theory mean it scored a goal, but we all know it did not.

On the one hand, the no confidence motion against minister Dolores Cristina was outvoted by a margin of one.

But on the other hand, what was said in the debate bloodied the government and the minister in particular.

At the outset of this comment, one must decry the savage treatment meted out by the Opposition and its media against the minister, her son and his girlfriend and her family. The Opposition really did not have to go down that way: the suspension of the EUPA funds was grave enough.

Having said that, the conclusion and the lesson drawn from the whole sorry story by the prime minister, and in particular his announcement that a rigorous analysis was being done about all EU-related agencies and authorities to prevent any recurrence of such a suspension of funds was more than merely revealing. So too his not-too-hidden warning against those who would play games with the government’s own internal audit team not only shows far more than any Opposition spokesman what may have taken place but also shows up a very unhealthy and arrogant mindset – precisely what the Opposition was claiming.

Here again, the Opposition and its media went into overdrive to the point of hinting at fraud and corruption, through juxtaposing OLAF and the EUPA issue, which does not seem to have been the case. It is through such over-enthusiasm that the Opposition loses credibility.

But more apposite were the strictures levied, in particular by Evarist Bartolo, against the minister’s modus operandi.

Mr Bartolo said, and we have no option but to believe him, that had there been a ministerial statement when the story broke, plus maybe an apology, the Opposition would not have come up with a no-confidence motion which, as all who know the minister well say has destroyed her.

Then Mr Bartolo’s damaging depiction of the minister as closed up in a huddle of very few trusted people and that not even people close to other PN ministers can penetrate into this charmed circle where everything is decided by the minister’s secretariat.

Whether that is true or not, only the insiders would know and they’re not talking.

On the one hand, this undermines the Opposition’s continuous campaign that it’s the minister’s ‘fault’ when such ‘fault’ according to the Opposition spokesman himself is unconscious and due to a lack of management skills, which is not a hanging offence.

On the other hand, however, if true, it underlines much of what is bad in our political system, (and Labour is as sinful here as this government) that people become politicians and then ministers without getting real training in management, in strategic thinking, in understanding how to motivate people and how to manage such a cumbersome body as a government ministry.

It is true, as the prime minister said towards the conclusion of his speech, that we now have the added assurance of an EU which checks our paperwork better than any local government ever did, but that is small consolation. We should have done better.

If that is the case, then it is not just Minister Cristina who needs to improve her management skills but many other ministers as well, and many would-be ministers and people on the Opposition’s front bench. Let him who is blameless cast the first stone.

We may think that what is needed is more rigorous auditing and insisting on the correct procedures but, as has been said elsewhere, perhaps too choosing people not for their political or personal loyalty but for their competence.