Parliament will be officially moving to its new home this evening.

After months of controversy and delays, the new Parliament building at the entrance of Malta’s capital city will be opened by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, flanked by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anglu Farrugia.

Even on this solemn occasion, we could not refrain from having a controversy. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat stuck to his pre-election word, inviting his predecessor Lawrence Gonzi to officiate the opening after the latter had conceived the project. But Dr Gonzi rose beyond partisan politics, and in a strongly-worded reprimand turned down the offer and, rightly so, said that such an important event should be headed by the President of the Republic. Joseph Muscat tried to score some cheap political points on the matter, but he did not succeed.

The new building has been the subject of heated political debate since its conception, with the Labour Party, then in opposition, making a big fuss about the expenditure as well as the recruiting of world-renowned architect Renzo Piano to do the job which, it must be remembered, was also linked to the renovation of the old royal theatre.

But, as soon as the election was won, Labour forgot all the ruckus it had created on the project, started using the theatre for events organised by the government, and completed the new Parliament building, albeit with long delays. It’s enough to say that the official opening was moved twice and that the government had to take drastic action against the contractor involved in the work.

Some issues are still creating debate. For one thing, there are still some complaints that the chamber is too small. Others are talking about security issues which, in a world where nothing should be taken for granted, need to be addressed quickly.

But, all in all, Parliament deserves to have its own space. Although the chamber inside the presidential palace served its purposes for decades, it was not right that the institution did not have its own premises.

And, now that it has, Parliament must also see it as a new beginning. The House of Representatives is not close to the people; it is very rarely that there is interest in what happens there. Unless it is budget day or else there is some kind of incident – thankfully, in recent years they are only verbal, unlike what used to happen in the 1970s and 1980s – there isn’t much talk about Parliament.

The opening of the new Parliament building must be taken as an occasion to build this bridge with the public.