Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s first reshuffle will take place in a matter of weeks. He has intimated the obvious – it may not be the last one. He will effect changes as he feels necessary, he said. That is a prime minister’s prerogative. It is what makes him first among equals, together with the power to set the Cabinet and, thereby, the government’s agenda.

In this particular regard, an early reshuffle, more than necessitated by the push of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca to the presidency, is an explicit reading that some ministers have not performed as well as expected, while one or two parliamentary secretaries have shone.

With a completely new Cabinet membership, bar for one – Karmenu Vella – with long experience and a few others with an exposure of 22 months in the 1996-98 Labour government, that was to be expected. All the more so since most appointees from the professions, as is nearly always the case, did not have prior administrative experience.

The important thing is that the Cabinet is given better shape and more balance. The Prime Minister is obliged to be political, to take internal party considerations into account. More than that, he has to consider the impact on the efficiency of the Executive, the administration of the country.

That obliges him to be ruthless, which Muscat can be more than previous prime ministers given the size of his parliamentary majority. A removed minister or parliamentary secretary will grow sulky and probably call it a day at the next election. But that will be all.

Looking at things from outside it is possible to see who might be a candidate for the chop and who for promotion. It is clear, for instance, that Owen Bonnici should be made a minister. His handling of justice has been impeccable. Plus his demeanour and honest response to situations and questions. Any promotions should not come along as an increase in the size of the Cabinet.

The reshuffle should not only be one of personnel. It should also take place in mindsets

There are areas which the Prime Minister could amalgamate not to expand his already bloated team or, preferably, to start whittling it down. It is also possible to see who is not performing as necessary and also as expected. There is no restraint in doing that in most of the media. Names are being bandied about with abandon. So too among the people at large. That is always the case and will not influence the Prime Minister.

What will influence him is results, achieved or failed, and the need to strengthen performance. That becomes more necessary as the months and years roll inexorably by. It is not just that a prime minister always has his eye on the next general election. He or she must always focus on ongoing outcomes, work along his/her vision as spelt out in various programmes and be prepared for unexpected events.

Muscat may be presumed to be doing all that. Something else he should be doing is to look at the mirror on his wall. He has a knot of advisers, plus a few political elders to hear out. Whom he listens to and over what is his decision, which must be premised on an expectation that those closest to him will be as frank as can be.

That is far from being nearly always the case. Power generates deference. It should not be so but it is nearly always ends that way. Some advisers will wait for their master to be in the right mood before being so bold as to tell him something he may not want to hear. That is not good. Political kitchen sessions should be held regularly for raw assessment and blunt truth to be laid on the table.

Perhaps that is going on. Some mistakes made by the Muscat government suggests it is not being done as strongly as possible. For instance, it is incredible that no one seems to have convinced the Prime Minister that the Individual Investment Programme as initially drawn up and announced on the advice of the hired agents was botched from the word go. In particular, it is unbelievable that it was permed on a secrecy clause whereby those granted citizenship under the scheme retained anonymity.

Errors will be made. But to fail to avoid the avoidable should not be on. The reshuffle should not only be one of personnel. It should also take place in mindsets.