It is a difficult time for the government, and the opposition is making the most of it.

The Malta Labour Party has taken advantage of a number of mishaps involving Nationalist ministers, and is piling great pressure on the government, in particular on Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, at a time when the government should supposedly be giving its best because the election is approaching fast.

Labour leader Alfred Sant has repeatedly spoken of “scandals”, “corruption”, “deceit” and “lying”, saying that the Prime Minister’s promise, when he took over three years ago, of a new style of leadership has not been fulfilled and, instead, the country’s political administration has gone from bad to worse.

The government has tried hard to reply to the opposition’s allegations, but it has not always been convincing, and as is often said in similar circumstances, some of the mud thrown tends to stick.

Several ministers have found themselves in Dr Sant’s line of fire, and his speech during a political activity in Qormi last Sunday was a list of accusations that, to Dr Sant, amply indicate that Dr Lawrence Gonzi has lost the plot so much so that, to use the opposition leader’s words, “he (Dr Gonzi) is subjecting himself to blackmail by the same ministers.”

Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea, Health Minister Louis Deguara, Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina and Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela were all mentioned by Dr Sant. Some of them were quick to issue statements in reply, others did not.

The issue did not stop there. It continued on Monday when Dr Sant wrote to the Speaker of the House of Representatives calling upon him to take action against Minister Mugliett, who Dr Sant said had lied to Parliament, a claim that was denied by the minister that same evening. The Labour leader then went on to raise a breach of privilege complaint on Mr Mugliett.

The minister admitted to have offered his resignation over the issue – a decision within the Malta Transport Authority to retain in employment two employees who had been found guilty of bribery – but this offer was rejected by Dr Gonzi. This rejection spurred the opposition – and Alternattiva Demokratika – to say that the Prime Minister had endorsed Mr Mugliett’s behaviour.

This and the other issues that have been mentioned by Dr Sant have dented the government’s credibility in the eyes of the people in no small way. There is no doubt that the MLP has gained points, and will use them to its advantage in the run-up to the next election.

Political observers believe that if there had been any chance that the election would be held before the end of the year, now this chance has been lost and it is now more likely that Dr Gonzi will leave it to the latest time possible to call the election.

The Nationalist Party cannot afford to call an election now, at the height of so many strong currents against it. It will try to repair the damage as much as possible before calling upon the people to elect their new government.

Its back is too much against the wall to tempt fate now, even though once the new year starts there will be other issues it will have to contend with, not least the introduction of the euro.

And, in this sense, Dr Sant is being careful on this particular matter too. Last Sunday, he warned that Slovenia did not register an inflation in January – one month after it switched to the euro – but five months later, which means that the euro introduction can lead to a price hike later than expected.

The government should realise that it has committed too many mistakes over the past weeks. It needs to pick up the pieces quickly to improve its chances of being re-elected.