Maybe the government thinks that contrition would mean ammunition to the opposition. I don't think so. Feeling comfortable with its performance and having no problem with being unapologetic about its myriad serious slips, this government continues to erode what little trust remains in politics and politicians.

The Nationalist Party would not have stayed at the acme of power for a quarter of a century if it did not have the unmatched ability to master any remit, however dubious, skirt around any question, however thorny, mount any argument, however fallacious, cover up for their own, no matter what their sins, deflect any critique, however acute, and defend any issue, however indefensible.

I remember government representatives saying in 1989 that they would build a power station in Delimara and the one in Marsa ought to be closed down shortly. Twenty-one years on and they are telling us that we need to extend the Delimara power station in order to close the still-standing Marsa one (which, to date, continues to supply us with a good chunk of our electricity needs).

So the Marsa power station stayed on for two more decades with all the concomitant problems and health hazards it provides. Further up the road, the new hospital took over a decade to build in spite of government projections. This venture was problematic on all fronts: from contracts for the supply of concrete to IT systems procurement; from air-conditioners, to doors, to entire built-up blocks being pulled down... The bill kept increasing by millions of euros every day, departing evermore from the original estimate (from under €230 million to over €575 million). No serious explanations were given as to why planning was so calamitously inadequate. Accusations of corruption were made by people from the PN side. Creative ways were found to silence these detractors.

Has there been, and is there, one untainted project?

The bad governance list continues to expand by the day. The Fairmount contracts costing us millions of euros pocketed by foreigners who disappeared. The power station extension contract involving - amidst other wrongdoing - dealing with a company blacklisted by the World Bank. The serious accusations surrounding the suspension of educational funds by the EU. The allegations on the privatisation of the super yacht facilities at the shipyards, whereby a police investigation was ordered eight months after the Prime Minister's Office received the first report on alleged bribes. The Malta Information Technology Agency and the questions with regard e-learning contracts. The investigation on the VAT Department fraud, which had to be concluded by January of this year but is still pending...

Investigations, public auditor's dossiers, reports conducted by private audit firms, all point in one direction: bad governance. And yet, the cat is never belled. The government cleverly runs rings around the inquisitors, a bad taste is left in the mouth but uncovering the whole truth remains unreachable.

Soon enough, then, public attention and discussion are deftly diverted elsewhere. Could cohabiting couples receive Holy Communion? Then onto the perennial side-tracker at this time of the year: Should Malta continue participating in the Eurovision Song Contest? As soon as the annual British abortion statistics are released, the condemning of Maltese women who have abortions starts, as if we have just awakened to this reality... We should test every fertile-age woman for pregnancy before she travels abroad blah blah blah... And do Maltese women prefer Sicily or Britain for abortions? Also coming soon, the mother of all distractions and a timely godsend for a government in a football-mad country: the World Cup. And for good measure: the ongoing local council squabbles, which have rendered us pettier than we ever were; to compound this, we even have hamlet councils now... and on it goes.

We obviously want and need answers but the, at times, flaccid inquiries couldn't touch such consummate performers as the players involved in big government business. This is because certain investigations lack rigour as people are rarely willing to speak up and expose the government for what it is, not least because they are afraid. They cannot be blamed, to a certain point. Speaking truth to power is not easy. Experience shows us that the whistleblower has invariably ended up being attacked and vilified instead of the wrongdoer and, therefore, pinning down the truth becomes even more elusive.

Since 1998 the PN has won a hat-trick of elections, securing the third victory by means of pledges that will remain unfulfilled and by taking care of their own and some others, up to the very last hours before voting. But, no, they tell us, the patronage system strengthened over the years, the network of interests and the power of incumbency have nothing to do with winning elections.

And so the government continues spinning its way through. The tyranny of a majority, irrelevant of how that has been garnered and how narrow it may be.

Dr Dalli is shadow minister for the public service and government investment.