Trying to understand what is going on within the parties this near to Election Day is like trying to ferret out a State secret.

The public is presented with sudden decisions and many times there is next to no information on what has led to that particular decision.

Hence the series of unexpected developments that have surfaced so far in this pre-election period.

While Tonio Borg’s appointment as European Commission was a direct result of the well-known events concerning John Dalli, the enforced removal of Anglu Farrugia from Labour deputy leader was, and still is, inexplicable to many.

So too, the sudden decision by the PN not to allow Herman Schiavone to contest the election, although here one could perhaps perceive a recurrent complaint from Franco Debono.

Equally inexplicable is this ring-a-ring of roses with regard to the first mass public events of the campaign. PN had gone public first with a Facebook page announcing a mass meeting today week on the Floriana Granaries. This post is still there.

Now PN are saying their first mass event will be in Gozo.

Which also happens to be where the PL will be holding its first mass event of this campaign. The PL’s rumour mill had already spoken of a party mass event to be held elsewhere this coming Sunday.

Suddenly, both parties have changed tack with no reason being given. The public is expected to make up its mind as to what may have caused these sudden U-turns.

There is, of course, an underlying concern about party supporters clashing while crossing over. To our minds, an even more trenchant concern should be what if a sudden storm forces both sets of supporters to spend the night in Gozo?

And so it goes on. Both parties are keeping their cards close to their chests and playing politics as if they were playing chess.

It has become very interesting (and also amusing) to see the two parties changing tack to reflect their innermost concerns about their own weaknesses and/or strong points. Just like sumo fighters grappling at each other’s waistbands to try and throw over the opponent.

In fact, to understand better what either side is fragile about, just look at the opponent’s tactics and you get a much better understanding of the state of play.

At this very early stage in the campaign, both parties are still, so to speak, testing the waters trying to find anything to grapple with and also a surer ground for their footwork.

This could also reinforce the perception that both parties have come to the campaign with a deep-set will to win power but with rather less than adequate real preparation for a real election campaign, with more of an attitude to rubbish anything the other party stands for but less with different, cohesive and easy to explain set of policies that both fulfil the party’s historical stance and open the way to the future.

One gets the impression, more on Labour than on PN to tell the truth, that winning is all PL cares about, although having said that the PN will do absolutely everything to hang on to power.

These are early days. Both parties will undoubtedly have their big guns hidden somewhere and their secret weapons too. These can well determine the outcome of the election, although this, in the Maltese context does not work out like in other countries. In any other country, for instance, Alfred Sant’s and Labour’s allegations on JPO and his Mistra land would have landed the ruling party in ignominy. Here, however, both with Labour’s cack-handed handling of the issue and JPO’s well-trained reaction, the impact of the allegations was muted and people, in the end, understood nothing. It was only later, when the election was won and lost, that people understood more.

These are early days. Soon, the outlines of the election campaign will become clearer. Labour, to be fair, have been building the campaign for months and years so that today no one would be in doubt that Labour seek to unseat the PN government.

Many have already declared their stance. Others have yet to do so. In particular, the media have an important role to play in informing the public, explaining what the issues are and what are the alternative choices facing the public. It cannot be, it just cannot be, that the only difference we will be deciding on 9 March is who gets to go up the Castille steps.

There are, at present, heavy pressures on the media, especially that media which has a massive, popular audience. Here too our plea is for more information and less obfuscation, more debate and less red-hot verbal clashes.

It is usually said the people get the government they deserve. In our case, we can equally say the people get the election campaign they deserve.