These have been eventful and anxious days for the country, as it grapples with fresh developments on situations that have been brewing for the past years.

The government finds itself in a tight corner, as the events that have taken place continue to put pressure especially on the Prime Minister who, several times this week, has insisted that he is taking decisions on his own. Whether this will lead to his taking full responsibility – politically – for all that others close to him have done remains to be seen.

But it is clear that after Keith Schembri’s withdrawal of a libel case to avoid answering questions that could put him in trouble and the ruling by a magistrate for an investigation into the actions of three ministers, the arrest of prominent businessman Yorgen Fenech adds more fuel to the already raging fire of dissent in the country.

It was therefore not a surprise that an angry crowd turned up in Valletta on Wednesday evening, protesting against the government and calling for resignations. In any democratic country, even the slightest suspicion of wrongdoing leads to people being dismissed or voluntarily removing themselves from the position they hold. But, in Malta, we have had people being confirmed in their public role, as the Prime Minister continued to defend his allies. And so the crowd was right to be angry.

What started as a very peaceful gathering in front of the PM’s office in Castille and continued in front of the Law Courts, where the Great Siege Monument has served as a memorial to slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, ended with some moments of tension in front of the Parliament building.

We say it from the outset that, in whatever circumstances, any kind of violent behaviour is to be condemned. But from the way the situation developed, the incidents that led to the injury of two police officers in the mayhem that ensued around the car used by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici could have been avoided.

For one thing, the police may have underestimated the passion of the protest, and more resources should have been present to exercise control of the crowd.  If there weren’t enough policemen, the top officers outside the Parliament building should have called for reinforcements when it became apparent that the situation was not easy to handle.

Added to this, Bonnici should have avoided leaving the Parliament building at that particular time, when the protest was at its height. Let us remember that the protesting crowd was made up mostly of people who have an axe to grind with the minister as he is seen as the man politically responsible for the regular removal of candles, flowers and photos that have been placed at the foot of the Great Siege monument in remembrance of Caruana Galizia.

We do not know what the minister’s commitments were, but his leaving Parliament at that moment may have been seen by part of the crowd as being provocative, and it led to that kind of reaction.

Pro-government exponents have done their best to embellish the incident, making it seem that the disorderly conduct was something that had never been experienced before. People who lived through the 1980s know what real violent conduct is.

Having said this, we must add our voice to the calls for calm that have been made in the past few days. We must appeal for everyone to exercise control. We are living in uneasy times and we must not allow the situation to escalate.