In a few hours time 2012 will be consigned to the history books. For Malta this has been the most eventful year since the turn of the millennium, with unexpected twists and turns being the order of the day, rather than the exception.

During the past twelve months, the country went through uncharted territory, not only in the political arena but also, in the judiciary, sport as well as Malta’s reputation in Brussels and beyond. The series of events which in 2012 made the headlines both locally and abroad, have sent shockwaves of seismic proportions and shattered our institutions.

The year started off, with the political crisis, and a prime minister who was in denial of this for several months. While Dr Gonzi might claim that in spite of all the mishaps and turmoil, this legislature is the longest one since 1987, such a comparison is worrying – to say the least. In reality the government was able to survive for so long, only because of “dirty tricks” it resorted to in parliament, which was reduced to a talking shop.

For several months government avoided embarrassing votes, to the point the this year’s budget was only approved in May. At the same time, the House of Representatives had the lengthiest summer and Easter recess in recent years. In the first half of this year, government survived a no-confidence vote thanks to the Speaker, but then lost its home affairs minister and EU ambassador in due course. Subsequently one of its MPs, declared himself as independent, relegating this government to a coalition – something unheard of in Malta since the days of Sir Paul Boffa more than six decades ago.

In spite of this the prime minister, thought it was in the country’s best interest to forge ahead and present the budget three weeks before Christmas, with the outcome a foregone conclusion. The country now finds itself with no approved budget, after a year of political instability which has left its mark on business. As a matter of fact since the turn of the year, banks have repeatedly warned that the construction industry and new business ventures have slowed down, almost to a standstill.

While some may argue, that the political crisis could have been forecast as it had been brewing since the start of the legislature, few would have expected that the biggest bombshells of the year, were yet to be dropped.

The resignation of John Dalli from European Commission on 16 October, triggered a series of events which are still unfolding during the peak of the festive seasons, between Christmas and New Year. The nomination of former deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg, paved the way for the PN to deal a severe blow to its rivals, with the appointment of Simon Busuttil as deputy leader.  This in turn prompted Labour, to take urgent action and reshuffle its leadership trio, weeks before the start of the election campaign, after the alarm bells rang during the face-to-face debate between Anglu Farrugia and Dr Busuttil.

The PL was handed this opportunity, following Dr Farrugia’s remarks about a member of the judiciary, which some may consider as a blessing in disguise for the opposition. Only time will tell if this was a masterstroke, or a political blunder.

Touching on the judiciary, people’s confidence in this institution hit a new low in recent weeks after Judge Ray Pace was forced to resign, for his alleged involvement in criminal activity. Mr Justice Pace was no ordinary member of the judiciary as he was also the acting Chief Justice. His decision to step down was taken hours after the prime minister moved an impeachment motion against him, and against Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco.

In the latter case, Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco who is also president of the Malta Olympic Committee is refusing to resign following allegations which surfaced in The Sunday Times of London, regarding Malta’s ticket allocations for London 2012 and Sochi 2014.

Preparations to celebrate and welcome 2013 are now in full swing. At this point we cannot but wait anxiously for the final chapters of the most intriguing episodes of the country’s recent.