The Romans were experts at it. So much so that they coined a phrase, used in the headline, that literally means “bread and circuses”. Give the people food and entertainment, they used to argue, and they will not think about wars and corruption.

In other words, distract the people from the real issues, simply because the people are selfish enough to think of their personal interests first and not bother with the wider concerns. If they can eat well and have fun, they will not care that institutions around them are collapsing, corruption is rampant and the rule of law is under fire.

The Labour government has taken a leaf out of the Romans’ book.

We are living in a time when the Maltese feel good because the economy is doing well, jobs are at an all-time high and there is money to spend. Add some entertainment as we had last Saturday with the V18 opening ceremony – which we now know was cut and paste of what happened in Amsterdam four years ago – and the picture is complete.

It is a kind of populism that is working well for Labour.

What’s more, the Nationalist Party is still very much in disarray after two consecutive electoral defeats and, in spite of making some inroads, new leader Adrian Delia still has to convince the majority of traditional Nationalists that he was the right choice. He continues to struggle internally perhaps much more than he is struggling with his political adversaries.

All this, of course, is to Labour’s advantage. Malta survived the economic crisis of a decade ago with flying colours under the Lawrence Gonzi administration, and Joseph Muscat was clever enough to build on that success. To his credit, Muscat understood what Malta’s strengths are and is utilising them to their full potential.

Added to this, Labour is mastering the “panem et circenses” concept as the Romans did – with an extra weapon: a well-oiled marketing and public relations machine which is always at the ready to highlight achievements and play down any mishaps, however big they are.

Our wars are different from those faced by the Romans, but they are still wars that need to be fought and won. With regard to corruption, well, ever since Joseph Muscat took over as prime minister nearly five years ago, we have had one scandal after another. The Panama Papers is only the most famous of them, but there were many others that rocked the administration and put the whole of Malta in bad light – not only in the eyes of well-meaning citizens, but also in the eyes of Europe and the world.

And yet, in spite of all this, Labour won a second term with an even bigger majority and, if surveys are to be believed, this has grown more in the last six months.

Labour’s philosophy is that so long as in general people are happy, the rest can take care of itself.