Konrad Mizzi did not turn up for a television programme on PBS last Monday, in which he had to debate his own baby, the energy sector, with the Nationalist Party shadow minister Marthese Portelli.

He had apparently confirmed his participation, but on Monday the producers were informed that Dr Mizzi was unavailable and that Minister Chris Cardona was going to replace him. Dr Mizzi attended the Cabinet meeting in the morning of the same day, which means that he fell sick later, or had to travel abroad on urgent business, or simply did not want to face Dr Portelli.

There could be another reason, which is probably the likeliest one, and this is that he is being protected by the government and Labour Party. It is common knowledge that he is one of Joseph Muscat’s favourites, and given that the government and Dr Mizzi have little to shout about on their failed energy plan, any presence in the media could have exposed him to backlash.

In a nutshell, his absence from the programme was yet another marketing ploy.

As it happened, Dr Cardona’s presence acted as a buffer to the beleaguered minister, and so Labour’s losses were contained.

Yes, Dr Mizzi is a minister in distress. Let us remember that he was behind the new power station plan on which the Labour Party built its historic electoral victory. This power station was to be ready two years after the election. We are close to the deadline, but it has been known for a long time that the promise will not be fulfilled. Worse, we are still to see some kind of progress on the project.

Together with the Taghna Lkoll idea that was immediately thrown out the window as soon as the votes were counted, the power station debacle is so far Labour’s biggest failure. There are no excuses for it; two years ago, we were right in the middle of an election campaign and the power station was almost always part of Joseph Muscat’s agenda when he was speaking in public. Today, two years later, this failure is there for all to see. Konrad Mizzi, the mastermind behind the project, carries his own responsibility for the letdown too.

There is another area in Dr Mizzi’s portfolio that is embarrassing for the minister – and this is the price of fuel in Malta. While drivers around the world are spending less and less on petrol and diesel because of the drop in the international oil market price, here in Malta we are still paying more than we should. The hedging exercise – if that’s the reason – has failed miserably. No matter how hard the government tries to justify the situation, it is in the wrong. What people are supposedly saving in their water and electricity rates is probably being paid up in fuel costs.

I would not be surprised if, however, as the election approaches, the price is brought down suddenly. We’re used to such strategies.

Dr Mizzi is in distress for another reason, although this would not have been brought up in the TV programme, given that it regards the health sector, for which he is also responsible. The situation at Mater Dei Hospital is deteriorating day after day, and on Tuesday we had a second patient dying in a hospital corridor. When in Opposition, the Labour Party promised a roadmap to resolve all issues at the public hospital. Here we are, two years down the line, with people dying in hospital corridors.