Despite a series of corruption allegations and other unchecked abuses, Joseph Muscat’s administration is poised for yet another triumph at the polls come 2018.

Serious mistakes and deteriorating environmental policies aside, it looks like the Labour Party’s economic record is all that matters for quite a number of Maltese citizens. Therefore, Muscat will have an easy victory and another five years of bad governance.

Unfortunately, there is no real challenge from the Nationalist Opposition... and that is bad, very bad, for democracy.

Although the Nationalist Party managed to narrow the gap, opinion polls suggest it is still a bit too wide.  How can it be narrowed?

In my humble opinion, the PN is still an unelectable party for many reasons. But it still has time to bring about a for-midable change and go into an electable mode.

Political analysts have argued that, as an MEP, Simon Busuttil was absolutely brilliant but as leader of such a great party he seems to be finding it difficult to inject a dose of highly powerful substance and lift it up from its dismal showing.

Is it his confrontational tone? Is it leadership incompetence? Or Is it a bad communication strategy? Why, for example, is he finding it difficult to speak as loud as it takes about the disastrous strategy being applied with regard to the environment? Why was there complete silence from his part when the proposed towers were given the green light? Has he had enough of environmental issues?

The PN has to organise itself better and even make reshuffles where necessary. It needs to make some more noise about environmental issues and the shady deals done by this administration with Azerbaijan and Chinese companies as it did on the Panama Papers scandal.

Busuttil has to eliminate the gap between the PN and the Labour Party... the sooner the better.