Standard political science suggests that public support for the government midway through a legislature is well below the levels registered at the beginning or end. This may explain why the Gonzi administration is under fire from nearly every quarter.

That the opposition is critical of the government is not surprising, and of no particular concern to Dr Gonzi and his ministers; however, when the people who voted you into power begin to show a lack of faith in whatever your government is doing, then Dr Gonzi, his ministers and MPs must sit up and listen. And listen carefully.

Nationalist governments have always been described, half-way through the legislature, as distant. They appear to be comfortable with what they have (not) done and little concerned with the plight of those who are affected by the decisions they have taken.

To varying degrees, Dr Gonzi’s government is no different. Riding high on the crest of an electoral victory is one thing, but trying to swim against the current despite advice to the contrary, is another matter altogether. In many areas, this is what the government is doing. But what has the government done (or not done) to deserve such negative criticism? What has gone wrong two-and-a-half years after it was elected to power?

In the last budget, Dr Gonzi said his government was going to focus on three sectors: education, the economy and the environment – the three Es.

In education, the situation has improved. The opening of MCAST has created more opportunities for young people to improve their educational qualifications. Unfortunately, there are growing concerns that the government’s efforts to boost vocational qualifications has resulted in the university of Malta being neglected.

The university remains the country’s foremost educational institution and, like any other sector, it needs money to expand and offer more to its students. The government’s intentions to have 50 per cent of post-secondary students moving into tertiary education is commendable, but the university cannot do this without a considerable injection of funds. The education ministry has also done sterling work in the repair and building of existing and new schools. Although there are areas that still need to be addressed, the government’s record has been positive.

The environment has also been give due attention. The introduction of legislation to tackle littering has been well-received, although the same cannot be said of the government’s decision to impose a “green tax” on a range of products.

Enforcement remains a problem, however, and the subject of much criticism from the public who feel that new laws are useless if they are not enforced.

What holds everything together is the economy and here, despite government’s efforts to paint a different picture, problems remain.

The government is correct in stating that the deficit is under control, that fiscal targets are being reached, but statistics are of little importance to the public who are not seeing any tangible benefits.

A growing economy is reflected in the creation of new jobs, in a thriving industry, in increased trade and in improved competitiveness.

It would be unfair to say that nothing has changed in the past two years, but the government cannot honestly say that the economy has developed enough to create an environment in which the public sees for itself real growth, real change and real opportunities.

Time and again, support for the government depends ultimately on whether the public believes they are getting good value for their taxes. Getting new roads is fine, but the public also wants their take-home pay to go up, they want more jobs and fewer taxes.

Dr Gonzi and his administration have another two years in office. If the government wants another term, it needs to come down from the pedestal on which it sits and start paying attention to what people are saying. Otherwise, come the next election, Dr Gonzi and his colleagues will fall from grace. And they will only have themselves to blame.