We approach the first weekend of the election campaign and one question that has arisen in these opening stages is the conspicuous absence of Konrad Mizzi.

Before the 2013 election, he was Labour’s face. He appeared in every news conference to explain what a Labour government would be doing in the energy sector, saying that he was sure a new power station would be up and running within two years. Today we know that it took double that time, and what eyesore we have right in the middle of the bay in Marsaxlokk. We did not know at the time that his wife would have been employed and paid from our taxes to the tune of €13,000 a month.

But that’s not the point. The point is that Konrad Mizzi has not been seen at any of the press conferences held by Labour this week, and neither has he been pictured at any event Labour held for the masses.

Where is he? Has he been told to keep away, given that he is the face of the Panama Papers scandal? Is Labour hiding him? Has he become an embarrassment?

The fourth day of the campaign was once again characterised by news conferences by both political leaders in the morning, and public activities in the evening.

The end of the day brought with it an announcement by Joseph Muscat that he would be in favour of a discussion on the legalisation of marijuana, to which PN leader Simon Busuttil was quick to respond saying he agreed.

Labour Party

The Labour Party took longer than usual to announce its morning press conference. Maybe the later start to the day was due to the story published yesterday in The Malta Independent about the FIAU report on €1 million transfer into the account of a politically exposed person. Joseph Muscat probably wanted to prep himself more about the subject before meeting the media. One thing that stood out was the presence of an audience for a press conference, which is very unusual and very intimidating for journalists from the opposite side. The jeers at the PN journalist asking questions were therefore no surprise. It is a pity that the PL is resorting to these tactics.

No matter what the subject of the press conference is, it is evident that the thirst for information is not for the proposals being made, but for how the PM is dealing with the mountain of accusations that is piling up against people close to him. The PM admitted that Keith Schembri will resign the post of OPM chief of staff if a magistrate holding an inquiry into allegations made by Simon Busuttil led to a criminal investigation.

The PM’s reasoning for the non-resignation at this stage is that it has to be another magistrate to decree that a criminal investigation should be started. It means nothing to him that Magistrate Aaron Bugeja has already said there are grounds for an investigation but it does not fall within his remit of the Egrant inquiry.

Nationalist Party

Contrary to Labour, Simon Busuttil had an early start and he was quick to pick on The Malta Independent story, saying that the country’s institutions such as the Attorney General and the MFSA need to explain their inaction in the wake of such damning evidence. His pledges for a new police commissioner to be appointed on the first day in office and the appointment of a magistrate to deal with allegations of corruption formed part of a list of proposals closely linked with the clean-up exercise the PN intends to embark upon should it take over Castille.

Busuttil continued to focus on the need to restore faith in the country’s institutions. Their credibility has greatly been damaged with four years of corruption, he said in Naxxar.

Whether the Nationalist Party can sway the election in its favour based solely on its initiatives regarding good governance is still a huge question that the PN needs to answer in the remaining four weeks of the campaign. It has, slowly slowly, started to come up with its own proposals. But a good government is not only based on a solid administration. The people want to know more about the PN’s intentions on the economy, the environment, education, health and more. The documents the party published over the past four years laid the groundwork, but now the PN needs to expand more.