Six weeks after the election, the government still seems to be in a slumber.

One only needs to take a look at the list of events that, each day, the Department of Information provides the media with, to realise that government activity is at a minimum. There is so little going on, and of that so little worth reporting too.

It is understandable that after a long and hard campaign that led to the election, politicians take a deserved break. Most of them took the opportunity of the Easter holidays to spend a few days with their families, even going abroad for a brief and well-deserved holiday.

But one would have thought that, within three or four weeks after the election confirmed the Nationalist Party in government, the wheels of the administration would be set in motion.

So far, however, government occasions have been few and far between. Ministers and parliamentary secretaries have been conspicuous by their absence in public. Perhaps they are taking their time to settle down in their posts – old and new – and are silently preparing for the busier times ahead.

The Prime Minister himself has had a quiet time too. Other than his participation in the European Union summit in the week following his re-election, and his participation at the swearing-in ceremonies for local councillors and his appointment at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority offices, Dr Lawrence Gonzi has not made any other public appearances.

As for the ministers and parliamentary secretaries, there are some like Austin Gatt and Dolores Cristina – who were among the more hard-working in the previous legislature – who almost disappeared from public view in these first six weeks. On the other hand, it is probably John Dalli and George Pullicino who have been in the news the most in these first few weeks of the new legislature.

This is not to say that the ministers and parliamentary secretaries are doing nothing. They are, in fact, still building their teams that will guarantee them all the support they need over the next five years. They are also going through administrative material which they will find handy when the ball starts rolling. And, given the circumstances, they have the time to do it.

It is probable that matters will speed up when Parliament opens on 10 May, at least for a couple of months before the summer lull sets in. With the legislature officially open, ministers and parliamentary secretaries will undoubtedly be more occupied, and we are certain that they will make themselves heard more often than they are doing now.

That the government is taking it easy could also be a result of the fact that the Malta Labour Party is still to find its feet after its third electoral loss in a row.

The MLP is embroiled in a search for a new leader after the resignation of Alfred Sant, and the party is concentrating heavily on this vital issue. The MLP knows that the decision it is about to take will be a determining factor in its bid to win the election, and it is taking its time before holding the election for the new leader.

With such an important matter at stake, the MLP has so far limited its attacks on government issues – even because the government’s almost total silence has left little ground on which to attack – and is preferring to keep a low profile too, waiting as it is for a new leader and any changes that he or she will bring about.

Its exponents are by and large dealing with the internal issues that need to be seen to, while the five contenders for the post of MLP leader are, rightly so, intent on promoting themselves as the best possible choice.

All through this, the government is still gearing up. The ministers and parliamentary secretaries know that their honeymoon will soon be over.