Three years ago the “best Cabinet” in the political history of Malta was sworn in. These were the arrogant words of a Prime Minister who was probably too enthusiastic with his emphatic win in the election to realise what lay ahead.

Today, three years down the line, this “best Cabinet” has turned out to be one which has lost several components, both by Muscat’s own doing and because of their own mistakes, while others are right in the middle of issues that, in a really democratic country, would have meant their dismissal or resignation.

Karmenu Vella and Marie Louise Coleiro did not last long. The first was unceremoniously dumped in Brussels at the first opportunity, while the second was kicked to the presidency because she was too much of a threat to Muscat’s grip on the leadership. The well-liked and well-loved Marie Louise was a danger to Muscat and, against her own wishes, her political career was cut short because of the prime minister’s fears that she could have wrested the leadership away from him.

Then came Godfrey Farrugia’s resignation which arrived in a letter full of bitterness after he was asked to move to new responsibilities by a prime minister who was already feeling the pressure. It was soon followed by the outright dismissal of Manwel Mallia, who carried the weight of a shooting incident involving his driver, and which had then exposed a government that was willing to try to hide sacrosanct facts in a bid to save face, only for these facts to surface quickly to put the government to shame.

By then, Joseph Muscat had also lost Franco Mercieca, who resigned as parliamentary secretary for the elderly because his post was having a negative impact on his professional career. More recently, it was the turn of Michael Falzon who had to call it quits in the wake of serious allegations on a property deal with the Gaffarena family.

These three years have seen a string of scandals that have riddled the government. Australia Hall, Cafe Premier and Old Mint Street are just part of the avalanche of disgraceful instances that have hit the government hard, and almost all ministers and parliamentary secretaries have been, in one way or another, involved in the mess.

Joe Mizzi’s Spanish connection has been in the news for quite a while, also considering that the public transport system is going from bad to worse each and every day. He who said he knows where to strike oil cannot get a bus from point A to point B in time.

Owen Bonnici has been accused of trying to breach the Constitution by appointing magistrates who were not eligible for different reasons.

Anton Refalo was involved in bringing back a Gozo Channel vessel because he had missed it.

Helena Dalli was cornered about illegal development in one of her properties in Zejtun.

Chris Cardona faced the music when he went to reside in a Portomaso apartment in the luxury residential complex owned by a family involved in the Delimara power station Electrogas consortium.

Leo Brincat did not lift a finger when the government announced that a foreign investor will be building a university (which later turned out to be an institute) on virgin land in Marsascala.

Ian Borg was accused by the Ombudsman of having employed “devious” methods in applying for a development permit on a property in Rabat.

And then, of course, there’s Konrad Mizzi, who has been caught opening a company in Panama and who has so far resisted calls to resign. The minister remains embroiled in a scandal that will not go away unless he realises that the only honourable way out is a resignation.

The list could go on and on and no matter how much the government tries to deflect attention to other issues – the economy and gay marriage – the political storm continues unabated.

Joseph Muscat would do well to remember that the economy was thriving with Dr Lawrence Gonzi as prime minister. This happened at a time when the international situation was in a shambles and the price of oil had hit the roof, but a prospering economy did not save Dr Gonzi. That the economy continues to do well is a result of the foundations built by the previous administration and, frankly, with the price of oil plummeting to new lows, the Maltese people should be benefiting from more cuts in their energy and water tariffs, not to mention fuel.

As for the Prime Minister, Dr Muscat promised he would resign if a new power station was not built within two years of taking office. The deadline expired a year ago but we did not get a resignation.

There is one promise that Joseph Muscat fulfilled. He pledged to bring about a political earthquake and, yes, we did get one, but it is certainly not what Joseph Muscat had in mind. The earthquake we are experiencing is one in which the government has had to deal with one scandal hot on the heels of the previous one, with a prime minister who has lost control.