In the wake of the hustle and bustle and trials and tribulations that the 3 June general election brought about, the leaders of Malta’s two main political parties have been practically absent from the national scene.

It is, after all, the traditional silly season but there is more than the summer slowdown that is accountable for their absence.

For one, Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil, and yes he is still the party’s leader until 16 September when his successor is anointed as the party’s next chosen one. He has been laying low as the party set itself about choosing a new leader in the wake of his decision to step down after the party’s latest harrowing defeat at the electoral polls.

He has made the odd appearance here and there, for a photo opportunity with the four individuals vying for his job, and perhaps most notably last Wednesday when he all but called on one of those contenders to stand down from the leadership election.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, meanwhile, has also been rarely seen, as is the norm for prime ministers in summertime. He is undoubtedly still basking in the glory of last June’s electoral victory, he is also undoubtedly also enjoying the sight of seeing the Opposition tear itself to shreds in its post-electoral new leadership election, which they will perhaps continue to do after last night’s election, the results of which were not yet in at the time of writing.

He did mention that the money laundering allegations one particular Opposition leader candidate is facing reminds him of something.

That something is undoubtedly the Panama Papers affair that his closest colleagues have been embroiled in for over 18 months now. There is, however, little comparison between the two, and if the magisterial inquiries underway do not pan out as he hopes, his days of laying back and presumably taking it easy will be short lived.

But in the meantime, many people have taken their eye off the Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri situation. There are a number of related magisterial inquiries underway, inquiries that could be concluded at any given time and rest assured that once that happens, everyone can forget any hope they may have harboured of a traditional escape from politics in these hot days of summer.

It has been a silly season of sorts, just not the kind that we are used to in the media.

The silly season is usually a time for politicians to unwind, take a vacation, collect themselves for the coming autumn and to basically give themselves and the populace a break from it all. It is a time not only for politicians but also for the public at large to let go of the politics that tend to define many of our everyday lives in this heavily polarised country.

But despite the leaders’ virtual absence from the national scene, there has been little respite from the bouts of electoral fatigue, political fatigue and scandal fatigue the population has suffered from of late.

While the Nationalist Party leadership election had been anticipated the moment the leader said he would step down, not many expected that what had initially been billed as a ‘contest among friends’ would have resulted in the utter acrimony that has reared its ugly head.

Perhaps the country will have a chance to forget about politics for a little while after 16 September, at least until Parliament resumes, but chances are matters will slow down very little even after that.