The string of meetings involving ministers with members of the public will come to an end tomorrow when Prime Minister Joseph Muscat concludes the series at Castille.

The meetings were held as the government started to approach its first 100 days in office, and promises have been made that the exercise will be repeated regularly, at least once every six months.

The idea is reminiscent of the times when the Nationalist Party was elected to government in 1987 after 16 years of socialism. Then, the meetings were called “dialogue events” in which the public was given the chance to air its views on the subjects in hand at the time. It had been a success story.

The “government that listens” exercise embarked upon by the Labour government has also been a success story.

For many weeks before the election, the Labour Party had spoken about the previous government’s inability to stay in touch with the people, and after it was elected, it pledged to remain close to the people to hear their views and, why not, their complaints and grievances too.

The activities were all held at Castille, except for the one in Gozo, and this was done to give greater importance to the events as well as to reduce the logistical problems. Attendances for all activities were good, some exceptionally good, and it is envisaged that tomorrow’s event with the participation of Dr Joseph Muscat will attract the largest crowd.

The ministers and parliamentary secretaries who took part in these activities were frank with their listeners, but what was more important is that the people who took part felt that they were giving their contribution to the way matters are being administered.

For its part, the Nationalist Party has admitted its mistakes in not staying close to the people, and this has been acknowledged as one of the reasons why the PN lost so heavily in the past election. The PN has also pledged not to repeat its mistakes and will also make its own concerted efforts to be more present in people’s lives.

It is known that the PN has started to meet with the civil society and other organisations, meetings that will serve the party to try to rebuild its contacts. But the PN must also increase its presence in public.