That the Labour government is a government that delivers is borne out by the facts. Indeed, 75 per cent of Labour’s electoral programme has either already been implemented or is in the process of being implemented. This having been said, one must also state that controversy has not been lacking since Labour’s electoral victory in 2013. It is, therefore, fruitful to analyse the present political situation in the country.

Let’s start with the political parties themselves.

Labour in power is united behind its leader and enjoys the confidence of the majority of the Maltese. It is almost certain that it will win the next general election, even though its image has been severely dented by the Panama Papers controversy and other alleged breaches of good governance. Still, its excellent performance in the day-to-day running of the country should be enough to win it another five years in power.

Turning to the Nationalist Party, one must admit that it is still in limbo after its massive 2013 defeat. Under Simon Busuttil’s leadership, it has lacked coherence and is of little electoral appeal to the majority of the Maltese people. It continues to pursue a policy of negativity and has offered very little to make it a credible alternative to the present Labour government.

Malta’s Green party, Alternattiva Demokratika, has made a valuable contribution to the debate on the environment and other civic issues. However, it has little political clout, and it is highly unlikely that it will ever be in a position to elect a single member of Parliament.

I also do not believe that Marlene Farrugia’s Partit Demokratiku will have any impact on the next general election. While I admire Farrugia for speaking her mind on various issues, she is too much of a maverick to command widespread support, and her party has, to date, failed to attract the political heavyweights necessary to garner enough support to ensure electoral success.

We must set ourselves ever higher standards of good governance and work together to reach them

Although the present political situation shows that Joseph Muscat and the Labour Party are still in a very strong position, this does not mean there are no problems for Labour to deal with.

The first major problem concerns political ideology. Some crucial questions have to be asked: is the Labour Party, as we previously knew it, now dead and buried? Can a political party have a social policy inspired by the political ideology of the Left and an economic policy inspired by the political ideology of the Right and remain coherent? Is it possible to be pro-business and at the same time protect the best interests of the working class? How can progress be achieved without a heavy social cost, as in the case of the environment? Can a political party win an election without succumbing to populism to win votes?

These are some of the questions that still remain to be answered as we slowly move towards the next general election.

Then there is the issue of good governance. The Labour Party led by Muscat resembles a very strong football team that sweeps the opposition aside. In doing so, however, it seems unable to avoid regularly scoring an own goal, which sometimes puts the final victory in doubt, albeit for a short period of time.

I think the problem here lies in the fact that, today, some people in positions of power come from a background which has not prepared them for the highly sensitive and publicly accountable posts they now hold. As such, they are not conscious enough of the many responsibilities that public office brings with it.

This has brought about a major problem where indiscretions, due to lack of experience and an incorrect reading of the situation, have caused embarrassing difficulties for the Labour government.

The situation is further exacerbated by a Nationalist Opposition which wastes a lot of time painting black almost everything the government does instead of suggesting positive solutions to the problems the country faces.

I honestly do not think the majority of the Maltese really take the PN seriously whenever it criticises the Labour government. This is due to the fact that it is more than obvious that the PN is using its network of pro-Nationalist social entities and individual sympathisers to flog the government whenever Labour is in power.

These same pro-PN social entities and individuals then quietly recede into a background of silence when the Nationalists are once again safely ensconced in the seat of power.

I am not referring to the Catholic Church here, because it has a duty to make its voice heard on social issues.

To conclude, Malta has a Labour government to be proud of. It is delivering on its promises, but, sometimes, it is also committing mistakes that embarrass it. We are approaching the presidency of the Council of the European Union, and such mistakes can no longer be tolerated.

Much has been achieved, but even more remains to be done. As a country, we must set ourselves ever higher standards of good governance and then work together to reach them.

Desmond Zammit Marmarà is a Balzan Labour councillor.