Much is being said and many articles have been written about how “the people” rose in protest during past weeks. In the same way, we have been told a lot about the resurgence of “civil society”.

Now it is completely true that events which happened recently and are still ongoing, shocked a lot of people. It is also the case that we have witnessed continuous protests which were largely attended. Citizens who previously used not to take leading roles in public demonstrations were present and prominent.

All this does not amount to “the people”. Someone well informed about current opinion polling confided that as of when he spoke, there was little indication of any big change in the political beliefs of ordinary citizens. This does not mean that such change is to be ruled out. It means that there is a big leap between recognizing that street protests have been held and concluding how those who participated in them amount to “the people”.

The possibility still is that many citizens are still awaiting the emergence of all the facts before arriving at a political judgement. One can hardly blame them for that.

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WATCH THE ECONOMY

Since we joined the EU, our economy has increasingly concentrated on services, following two/three years when these actually declined, till they discovered the niches where they could grow. Meanwhile, industrial enterprise found itself in a squeeze, certainly in relative terms, but finally, I would also say, absolutely as well.

The ultimate consequence has been that the economy acquired a momentum in the last six/seven years which was exceptional in nature, but that made us more and more dependent on fragile activity which could quickly disappear. As a situation it is hardly much different in fact – though for different reasons – to that of the clothing factories which proliferated in Malta during the 1970’s. They came in fast and left fast.

Yet most then needed three years to fully depreciate the capital investment they arrived with. In financial services, there is less to no capital investment; as quick they come, as quick they go.

In the coming two years, it will be imperative to keep a close watch on economic developments.

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TRAINING

We all know that rightly, emphasis has been made about how in the investigations concerning the hideous murder of Mrs Caruana Galizia, help was requested and utilised from European and US police forces and experts. That was well done and the practice should continue, according to requirements.

What needs to be asked is whether over the years, under successive administrations, training of police officers was held and incessantly maintained to cover the most up to date investigative technologies.

Such an approach must be a standard operating procedure. It is not only in working on traces of DNA that significant progress has been achieved in the techniques of criminal investigation – other areas have recorded similar advances.

The government should ensure that the Malta police gains immediate access to such technologies, whatever they are, and that training in them is provided. So, it will be completely autonomous when it needs to fully carry out its duties, as I am sure, it would always want to do.