When 19 June was chosen as the day the winner of the ‘Be a Prime Minister for a day’ contest would spend with Lawrence Gonzi, the Nationalist Party could not have known that it was going to be one of the most difficult days for this administration.

It turned out to be the day after the government suffered a second defeat in Parliament within the space of a few weeks. On 30 May, Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigned after Franco Debono voted with the Opposition to give Labour a majority in the House for the first time in this legislature. Then, last Monday, it was Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s turn to switch sides and Jesmond Mugliett to abstain on another motion, this time on Malta’s Ambassador to the European Union Richard Cachia Caruana, who also resigned.

All three Nationalist backbenchers have denied any personal issues or vendettas in the way they voted. I am free to think otherwise.

The Nationalist Party executive has condemned their lack of loyalty to the party by voting with the Opposition to oust Dr Mifsud Bonnici and Mr Cachia Caruana. To me, this is a way of telling them that they will not be allowed to contest any election on behalf of the PN. To be fair, JPO had already said he would not contest again, but perhaps he already knew what was coming his way.

Enough about this.

Marija Hammett won the “Be a PM for a day” contest with her idea of providing parental skills courses for couples before they have a child. All parents will agree that raising children is the toughest job on earth, and so there is certainly no harm in giving would-be parents a helping hand.

There are other things I would do, were I to be PM for a day and here they are – not necessarily listed in the order in which I would implement them.

I would raze Paceville to the ground and turn it into a park for the family, like the one at Ta’ Qali and the one being built in Marsascala. I cannot accept the way Paceville has been allowed to degenerate.

Yes, it is a place of business and as such it generates much economic activity, and it has its own links with the tourism industry. But there are certainly better ways by which this same kind of activity can be registered.

I would immediately remove the summer half-days system for government employees. In this day and age we cannot afford to have the government system ceasing to operate at 1.30pm for more than three months.

I know that government employees compensate for the half days of summer during the winter months. And I know that many of them work in the afternoons in summer as well. But the best way forward is to have an eight-hour working day, perhaps longer, \throughout the year. No excuses about the heat please: air-conditioners exist.

I would also extend school hours for all government schools – and push for the Church and private schools to do likewise – until 6pm, not necessarily to have more lessons. In the extra hours, students could either do their homework or else be involved in extra-curricular activities such as drama, sport, music, dance and art. Our children are not exposed to culture as much as they should be.

The extra hours would not necessarily be overseen by teachers, although if they wanted to stay on, they should be allowed to do so. Extra school hours would go a long way to encourage more women back to work; many of them do not have a job because they want to be at home when the children come back from school.

I would also increase the number of school days by at least 20. The summer holidays are too long, and those extra days would help cover the curriculum better.

I would build a flyover instead of the Kappara roundabout. The traffic delays because of the current system are nauseating, especially in the summer heat. The project has been on the cards but we have never got down to implementing it. It would save so much time for drivers, and so much fuel too.

I would order a thorough exercise to eliminate the payment of social benefits to people who do not need them. There is too much abuse in this sector, and this is a large burden that we all have to carry. Most of all, I would review the sick leave system we have in place, possibly to introduce a scheme whereby people who do not take sick leave are financially rewarded.

I would also introduce a charge for people who seek medical assistance at Mater Dei Hospital unnecessarily – that is, for services that could have easily been obtained by visiting a GP. Many people go to the A&E Department because it is free, even when their condition does not merit a visit to hospital. By introducing a fee – say €25 – people would refrain from adding to the pressure on the hospital unnecessarily. And there would be no complaints about how long they waited in the queue – simply because the queue is only made up of people who have no reason to be at the hospital anyway.

I would revise the parliamentary privilege that MPs enjoy. I understand that this privilege is there to protect MPs when they speak of matters in the national interest, but it should be removed when MPs use it to attack people on a personal level when they do not have the chance to defend themselves. Private citizens should be able to file a complaint with the Speaker when they feel aggrieved by MPs’ statements, and the Speaker should have the discretion to allow private citizens to take MPs to court over statements they make in Parliament.

I’ve said this several times and I am going to say it again. I would establish a maximum of two consecutive terms in office for mayors. They can stay on as councillors but mayors should hold this position for up to eight years, not more. By doing this one would eliminate a situation whereby mayors think they are the emperors of their town or village.

I am sure that I will never be elected if I put forward these proposals – and the others for which I have no space – but that’s why I have my job and the Prime Minister has his.

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