Summer used to be a relatively quiet time in terms of news.

Journalists used to jokingly refer to the Santa Marija period in August as the ‘silly season’ because nothing much would happen during that time – Parliament would be in recess, many businesses would be on shut-down and ministers would go on holiday.

It used to be a time when filling up a newspaper or a TV news bulletin would be no easy task – a time for fluff pieces and silly features to fill up that space.

But the past few years were different.

2017 saw an early election called in the wake of allegations of high-level corruption and financial crime by top politicians, and a PN leadership race that was won by Adrian Delia.

The following summer, we had the publication of the conclusions of the Egrant inquiry.

Summer 2019 saw bitter PN infighting and a confidence vote that was won by Delia but which, however, failed to quell the unrest within the party. There was also the run-up that led to the arrest of Yorgen Fenech and all the political unrest that followed.

Last year, we had another PN leadership election, won by Bernard Grech, and the Covid-19 pandemic was still fresh and in full swing. 

This year was a bit different. It was not really a quiet summer – Malta was grey listed by the FATF in June and the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry was published last month. Both events were very significant, and their effects will be felt for months to come, but we’ll get to that later.

These past couple of weeks, however, have been relatively quiet in terms of news, and it is likely that this trend will continue for a few more days.

We have noted how press events had dwindled in number, and how the Prime Minister has been conspicuously absent over the past couple of weeks, save for his customary Sunday speeches, which are today no more than short comments via telephone.

But the indications are that this is the calm before the storm, there are increasing hints that an election is around the corner.

This week, for example, several billboards were placed all around the country and this newsroom is informed that they will be used for ‘propaganda’ purposes as from September.

While it is difficult to predict when an election will be held, it has long been rumoured that the country could head to the polls later this year, probably around November.

And, while the summer months are proving to be relatively quiet, an election campaign will be anything but.

We say this because it is highly likely that recent controversies will come to the fore again, pushed by both civil society organisations and the Opposition alike. These include the scandal surrounding Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and Yorgen Fenech, as well as Rosianne Cutajar’s involvement in a controversial property deal that also involves the 17 Black owner. The latter is still subject to an investigation by the taxman, which means that the case is far from closed.

The ramifications of the Daphne public inquiry will also be felt in the months to come, both in terms of the responsibility that the State has to shoulder and also in terms of the reforms that must be implemented, including on strengthening the institutions and protecting the journalism trade.

The FATF grey listing and the economic fallout of that development will likely also turn out to be another battleground, with the Opposition claiming that it can get Malta off the list by October and the government working on a more ‘realistic’ 18-month timeframe.

Then there are the ongoing court cases related to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, from which scandals and proof of the corruption and sleaze that existed under the previous administration continues to emerge on a weekly basis.

While Prime Minister Robert Abela might argue that this took place under his predecessor’s watch, he and the Labour Party can never truly escape from the responsibility of what happened. And his continued refusal to sack Muscat from the party will continue to haunt him in the months to come.

Some might argue that the PN is still too weak of an Opposition to present a real challenge to Abela, especially given that the polls continue to show a massive gap in favour of Labour. But this does not mean that an upcoming election campaign will be a calm one.

To the contrary, it promises to be a heated campaign with pressure mounting on the government to bring about real change and part with the ways of the past – the ways of the Muscat administration.