The country lost 11 years of investment in health infrastructure, the President of the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) said. In comments to this newspaper a few weeks ago, Martin Balzan said that the biggest losers are the Maltese and Gozitan people. Patients have been betrayed, he insisted.

In other words, the Labour government has let the people down on health matters.

Shortcomings in planning and investment in the energy distribution network contributed to the prolonged power outages experienced across the country during the summer of 2023 (and are being experienced again this year), according to a National Audit Office report submitted to Parliament before it rose for the summer recess. Capital expenditure in high voltage network saw a downward trend and “negatively impacted (Enemalta’s) operational performance”.

In other words, the Labour government has let the people down on energy matters, too.

Health and energy are two crucial sectors in which the Labour government has failed miserably since taking office in 2013. It had won the election with promises that it would give priority to both. The Labour Party, then under Joseph Muscat, had built its successful campaign on how it would revolutionise the energy sector and revitalise health services.

Both sectors are now close to collapse, both because of the lack of investment, and also as a result of the policies that were adopted as soon as Labour took over the reins of Castille. The economic model it chose – built on imported labour which has led to an exponential rise in population – has compounded the pressure on health and energy for which the Labour government did not prepare.

The main public hospital, built for a population of 400,000, cannot cope with the demand of 560,000 (excluding the thousands of tourists present on the island who also seek medical attention there). There has been no effort to expand Mater Dei. Not even the promised mental health wing or hospital has materialised, much less additions to the complex to enable it to cater for the growing needs. The government is so desperate to appear to be doing something that in recent days it boasted about the opening of a ward – information which MAM described as “fake news” as the “ward” in question is nothing but a canteen that has been used as a “ward” since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

With regard to energy, we are facing a second summer of lengthy and frequent power cuts because little consideration was given to the distribution network. While Malta is capable of producing the power it needs (or so they tell us), the weak distribution network is unable to cope with the energy that is needed by consumers – families, businesses, tourism and entertainment. Promises were made last year that matters would be resolved with the laying of more kilometres of cables, but this has not been enough as, once again, big pockets of the country have to make do without electricity in sweltering heat. Again, this exposes the lack of preparedness and vision by the government.

The problems being faced in health and energy are just a part of a bigger crisis. The exponential rise in the population as a result of Muscat’s policies, which have been endorsed and pursued by Robert Abela, have led to other issues related to overcrowding. We all know about the traffic congestion, infrastructural complications, closed bays because of overflowing sewage, environmental concerns such as pollution, lack of open spaces, and an overall feeling of suffocation.

There is another serious side to the story regarding health and energy.

Both sectors are right at the centre of political scandals and controversies that have rocked the country for the past decade, and which dominate the news headlines and will continue to do so for years to come.

A magisterial inquiry on the now-rescinded deal which had seen three public hospitals passed on to be run by private companies has produced arraignments of top political figures – including Muscat himself and three former ministers: Konrad Mizzi, who incidentally is a common denominator having served as both energy and health minister in Muscat’s Cabinet, Chris Fearne and Edward Scicluna, all of whom are set to stand trial after enough prima facie evidence was found by the court for them to be indicted.

There could also be other legal proceedings in connection with the energy sector. Another magisterial inquiry has looked or is still looking – there are conflicting reports on whether it has been concluded – into the power station, and could potentially open a bigger can of worms on yet another legacy of the Joseph Muscat administration.

The country is suffering the consequences of the Labour government’s wrong decisions and lack of planning in both the energy and health sectors.

At the same time, Muscat and Co. are awaiting their fate for what they did or did not do, while Abela and Co. have to face the repercussions of both the 11 wasted years and the political fallout from Labour’s recent past.