It happened just the way Joseph Muscat imagined it.

He did not want spring hunting to stop, knowing that Labour stood to lose support, and in the referendum he voted in favour of retaining the derogation, while saying so emphatically to bring the core Labourites out to vote “yes”.

He knew that he would have been lambasted by the environmentalists, but he was also seeing things long term. He knows that hunters vote with their shotgun, with many of them deciding blue or red depending on which party guaranteed to safeguard their hobby. And he knows that environmentalists, in their majority, consider other matters when making their choice in the polling booth, so he lost little there with his pro-hunting declaration.

Given that no spring hunting season passes by without incident, he knew that one way or another he would end up closing the hunting season. So he made a solemn promise, saying that in case of flagrant abuse, the hunting season would be closed prematurely. The term ‘flagrant’ was open to interpretation, and many thought that at the first shot at a protected bird Joseph Muscat would have been true to his word.

The first ‘illegal’ hunting incident took place two days into the season, and the police force made a big show with the poor guy who was caught, and he was given the maximum punishment possible, given the media hype and public attention that followed. So the wheels of justice turned swiftly to show that the government meant business when it said that no abuse will be tolerated. But, for Joseph Muscat, it was still too early to close the hunting season. One abuse did not warrant such drastic action. 

A second incident took place on the third day, and yet again the culprit was immediately caught and brought to book, with the government basking in good public opinion as it was seen to be well-equipped to deal with those few hunters who disobeyed the law. But, then again, it was still too early to close the season. 

For some days we then had a lull, and this worked very well for Joseph Muscat. The environmentalists remained keenly active in search for more incidents to put extra pressure, but there wasn’t enough to push the PM to maintain his promise.

That push only came Monday, and the way the incident happened – as well as the time it did – was perfect for Joseph Muscat. An injured bird falling out of the sky in a schoolyard during break-time, with students reported as being “traumatised”, was exactly what Joseph Muscat was waiting for. And, with a tweet from Azerbaijan, he let it be known that the season had been closed.

It was three days before the scheduled closure, so hunters did not lose much, although for them each hour they can hunt is sacrosanct. But the way things happened allowed Joseph Muscat to win back some respect from the environmentalists and the public at large, as the PM had maintained his promise.

Joseph Muscat pleased the hunters - and disappointed the environmentalists - when he campaigned in favour of a “yes” vote. And he pleased the anti-hunting lobby by closing the season, not too early to antagonise the hunters, and not too late for environmentalists to claim that they had been taken for a ride.

Yes, it worked perfectly for Joseph Muscat.