It would be fair to say that the appointment of Glenn Bedingfield as Home Affairs Minister in Robert Abela's new post-election Cabinet was one of the ones which raised the most eyebrows.

Social media was awash with commentary and even memes effectively ridiculing Bedingfield, who up until this point had been, at most, a Parliamentary Secretary with a somewhat minor portfolio.

He had the reputation of being more of a staunch Labour Party attack dog than someone who would be capable of being a minister.

That is perhaps why those not associated with the PL came across as being unconvinced by the appointment.

That in turn, is perhaps party why Bedingfield has taken the bull by the horns ever since his appointment.

He appears to have been one of the most active, if not most active, of the Cabinet ministers so far in this very young legislature as he has taken on several pressing issues which are not just important for his own portfolio, but more so for the people at large.

For instance, soon after his appointment, Bedingfield signed into law a new legal notice which allowed authorities to hand out fines for several offences to people caught on the spot.  This is applicable to non-residents, and is a reflection of the pandemonium that low-quality tourists have brought to certain localities.

When it became clear that the fines were initially too low, Bedingfield and his ministry stepped in to amend the legislation to make them higher.

The measure has been much needed: data obtained by The Malta Independent shows that within the first four weeks, nearly 500 fines had been administered - roughly 18 every day.

More so though, we have seen Bedingfield and his ministry respond directly to the needs of specific localities.  He has gone into specific localities to listen to residents, to what they are experiencing, and to ideas on how the authorities can respond to the challenges there.

We have seen, for instance, increased police presence in Swieqi, which has become overrun by the spillover from Paceville, Malta's entertainment hub.  This has resulted in quick reactions to - for example - instances of vandalism: an Indian national was caught and charged in court over the vandalism of a car, while six Italian tourists were apprehended at the airport for the same thing this week.

There have been other steps: for instance, a building in Ħal Far has been converted as a facility for prisoners serving the final chunk of their sentences before deportation, there have been clampdowns on individuals residing in Malta illegally, and an allegation about the use of laptops in prison was met by an immediate internal inquiry.

Have things been perfect?  One can look at the decision of the ministry to dispatch Armed Forces of Malta soldiers into the streets of places like Swieqi to maintain the order and question the merits behind it.

As this newspaper wrote earlier this week, their presence may reassure residents, but it also doesn't send the best message, as the government is effectively acknowledging that the ordinary system is not coping.  It is a stop-gap solution which realistically is a symptom of the government's failings that have allowed the situation to deteriorate to this point.

Regardless though, it would be fair to say that by and large, Bedingfield has - so far - proven his critics wrong.