When our dear Prime Minister boasts that our economy is in fine shape, no one dares to contradict him because it is a fact. Unemployment is low compared to past years and growth has continued unabated for nearly a decade.

As we applaud Joseph Muscat and his team for this achievement, we now need to give the economy a deserved A, with the potential for a better grade if the economic gains could be distributed more evenly.

However, what’s the use of having a good economy when our most important institutions are failing? The police, the army, the courts of law... and so on. What is the point of pretending to be at the forefront in defending democracy and the rule of law when this is not true?

On this score, therefore, Muscat’s rule of law in this country is a colossal failure. His stubbornness in letting Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri keep their jobs has created uncertainty and, probably, even scared off some investors, although their absence is now quite difficult to measure.

Unfortunately, Muscat is to blame for failing to bring about the very best qualities of the country he leads. When the exceptional majority of the Maltese people voted for change, they selected him because they wanted to see standards to rise all round (as he solemnly promised) and have institutions that would bring us immediately in line when we make a mistake. Unfortunately, the opposite has happened.