As the clock strikes midnight every New Year’s Eve, resolutions are made. Some are adhered to, others are not. The end of the year provides also an opportunity to look back and assess one’s performance. We are at that time of the year as 2015 is just a few days away.

As businessmen close their books and calculate their profits and accomplishments, they set new business targets for next year. Newly-wedded couples savouring their first months in marriage may be planning to start a family in the New Year.

Parents relishing their children’s achievements hope for an even better year.

Those reaching retirement age look back with nostalgia as they prepare for their new life without having to wake up early every day to go to work. Students in their final year of studies tap themselves on the back for their achievements throughout 2014, while setting their sights on the next step of their career.

Political parties are no different. As they take a much-deserved break over the Christmas period, the parties’ administrations will be reviewing their respective performance during 2014 and set new objectives for the third year of this legislature. So how did the parties fare this year?

The year started well for Labour. Dr Muscat was still riding the wave of his massive victory a year earlier. Then last May, as expected, his party registered a comfortable victory in the MEP elections.

But things changed considerably after the summer recess. The Prime Minister’s credibility received a big blow in October over the new power station issue.

Muscat’s aura of a great leader received another setback when his weakness was exposed during the Manuel Mallia saga.

In the eyes of the electorate, the Prime Minister failed in his first real leadership test. It is evident that the Labour leader’s extended honeymoon is over.

The party in Opposition, on the other hand, is ending the year on a high. After the MEPs’ election drubbing, many doubted whether the party is moving forward. The party’s style of leadership was also questioned.

The people started listening to what the PN leader was talking about. Simon Busuttil’s eloquence became known and appreciated

But it would have been a mistake for the party to change course on the basis of the MEPs’ election result. It was too early for the party to make inroads 14 months into the legislature.

The PN leader’s silent revamp of the parties’ structures started bearing fruit only after the summer. October was indeed a turning point for the party. The people started listening to what the PN leader was talking about.

Simon Busuttil’s eloquence became known and appreciated. In the eyes of the electorate, Busuttil was not the negative party leader Muscat tried to portray, but an honest and credible leader who was talking sense.

The mood in the country started changing sooner than I expected. The Opposition’s successful handling of the Mallia incident, which managed to garner the support of the independent media as well as the support of the public, is a case in point. For three entire weeks the people in the streets were talking the same language as the PN.

Despite having a nine-seat minority, the Opposition produced enough pressure on the Prime Minister to force him to remove his most powerful minister. Who would have thought at the beginning of the year such a feat was possible?

It is pertinent to say that for the PN the year was rounded off with a massive show of support during its fundraising marathon when we saw an all-time record of donations. One should not underestimate the political significance of such an achievement.

So what’s in store in 2015 for the two main parties?

The Labour Party is still the biggest party in Malta, in the driving seat and will probably remain so throughout next year.

The general election is three years away and the PN cannot expect to win back the people’s trust just yet. The party in Opposition can only aspire to gradually gain more ground.

The local council elections will take centre stage in 2015. I expect the party in government to win them comfortably especially with its attitude of dishing out favours and using its power of incumbency in the run up to polling day.

This will be the last electoral appointment before the next general election and Dr Muscat will be doing whatever is necessary to replicate his previous electoral successes.

The PN, on the other hand, with limited resources will have to work hard to get a respectable result. The party has its feet firmly on the ground and is aware that next year’s electoral appointment is just another lap of the race. In the upcoming elections, the PN has only to maintain its momentum. Overtaking the opponent will have to be accomplished in the final lap and not just yet.

These are indeed exciting times. Greener pastures await Busuttil and the PN next year.

Finally I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Hermann Schiavone is a Nationalist Party candidate.

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