As we approach the half way mark of this Labour legislature everyone has their own interpretation of its performance.  It is controversial, baffling, and widely subjective since so much of what has been done by the government has been personal, in the sense that it was tailor-made to stitch up potential problems, such as with the Speaker of the House, or to reward the many who had the dubious honour of making it to the list of receivers.

On a political level, there have been catastrophic blunders such as with the many scandals that have occurred on a regular basis, the likes of which have exceeded any decent self-control on this front.  In this regard, even their own supporters were rather aghast at the sheer nerve of such cronyism. 

Many were not expecting the rapid return to corruption and the so disappointing behaviour by those who should know better, along with the undoing of the Police Force, the Army and the low levels of public manifestation in Parliament and outside it.  Tricks of manipulation, lost road maps, new twists and turns, and any other fancy that came to mind were set loose.  And all of this without one contract, one agreement, one proper document tabled for discussion before the done deal.

The whole saga of the power station, with Electrogas, Shanghai Electric Power and the tanker in the bay with its adjacent gas storage tanks remains a myth with very serious consequences which the country will have to bear for decades down the line.  The proper impact studies are as elusive as the tank itself.

The new power station was a major commitment at election time, with claims of “doable” dished out over and over again in spite of factual arguments to the contrary and two and a half years down the line there is still nothing concrete apart from having burdened the country with a bank loan of €88 million and sold off the BWSC power station to the Chinese who are themselves in rather uncertain waters these days.

The famous hedging that used to be the beating stick of the Labour Opposition has flopped completely and we see the consequences in Airmalta and the way the Bank of Valletta has become the stool boy of Joseph Muscat.

Economically the country is said to be doing well, though a thorough examination of where the wealth is really being generated from would be opportune at this time.  The trade deficit has trebled so questions really should be raised about where we are heading.  If we do not take stock, foreign entities will start to question and investigate matters soon enough, as is already happening with BOV and with the state guarantee for the €88 million loan.

Giving lectures to others should really stop before we embarrass ourselves completely.  We are not without our opinions and no less important than others, but we cannot just wear a cap back to front to appear cool and then hope to be taken seriously.  There should be consistency and prudence before judgement and words.  Muscat’s washing of dirty laundry to the press at the EU meeting for Heads of Government, on the Greek dilemma is a case in point as is the immigration issue.

Another battle horse for Labour was the issue of Arriva and public transport in general.  A clear and honest assessment will show that little has improved, much more has been paid out and the public is facing higher costs for public transport with nothing to show for it.  The only comfort has been the silencing of angry stooges kicking up a continuous fuss about Arriva.

In the health sector, the slight breathing space that summer allows, should be used to prevent a repeat of the failure of last winter with all the beds in the corridors and the breakdown of proper care for patients and the working environment for the medical staff.  A proper plan needs to be put in place in the short term to avoid similar breakdowns in service.

On the other side of the half way mark, we also see a growing Opposition, looking to gain the trust of the people who stand quite shocked and disillusioned by Labour in government.  On a daily basis Simon Busuttil, Mario de Marco, Beppe Fenech Adami and the rest of the party have to deal with the scandals, the lack of cooperation, the bad administration of the public service, matters of justice and the courts, dangerous legislation such as with the SPED and all of the above mentioned affairs.  I imagine that it leaves them with little time to invest in the reconstruction of the party on a national level.  It will probably be down to the sectional and regional committees, the new General Secretary and all the prospective candidates to really dig in and deliver on a day to day and one to one basis.

At some point there will need to be a marked lift in confidence and trust if the party is to succeed in gaining the momentum to head to the polls with a strong chance of winning.  Maybe they will need to sacrifice some time from leading the country from the Opposition benches to looking out for their own interest and identifying with the people who need them to stand ready for the next challenge.

For the sake of the country, at this point in time, there is much which needs to be fixed and fixed sooner rather than later. In a small country such as Malta, where every corner touches someone’s house, having a porn shop next door is going to radically change the character and little charm which still remains. 

We do not have areas, as they do abroad, behind the train stations or in peripheral streets, where such shops exist in a zone.  Who will regulate where these shops are located?  Next to the stationer?  Next to the butcher?  Next to the parish hall?   In Valletta? This mania of allowing anything and everything to enter into our homes and island has reached irresponsible levels, which serve only to try to distract people from the real issues and give spin a go. 

On the other hand, removing articles 163 and 164 of the criminal code, without any reservation at all, shows how little we value our religion.  This is not about religious freedom but about lack of it. Certainly, one can modify the spirit of the law in the sense that people would not end up in jail on a trumped up charge of vilifying the religion or for expressing a difference of opinion but with the spectre of ISIS and other terrorist groups persecuting Christians all around us, indeed, the very opposite is needed, whereby people defend their religion and culture. 

Too many times recently this government has acted out of ulterior motives that do not justify the cost to the country.  It is time for the public to be ready to stand up and make a decision which supersedes material or other petty interests and which may go against the good of the country and the people and to discern truth from lies.  Consider at this point, what mark out of 10 would you give the current leadership? An exercise in compare and contrast would be helpful. 

As remarked by Alessia Psaila Zammit , the PN will at some point be called upon to restore the dignity of institutions and entities of our country.