Malta to lead OSCE, UN Security Council

On January 1, Malta surprisingly took over as the OSCE chairperson-in-office after Russia blocked the nomination of Estonia, as the war in Ukraine rages on.

As chairperson-in-office of the OSCE and as an elected member of the UN Security Council until the end of 2024, Malta will be at the forefront of multilateral efforts to strengthen cooperation, to build back confidence and trust.

Malta will also assume the presidency of the UN Security Council in April, after having presided over the council in February last year.

Malta is currently one of 10 countries serving a two-year term as non-permanent members of the Security Council. Malta’s representative to the UN Vanessa Frazier has adopted a proactive stand about the Gaza war.

Elections again

People will be called to elect their MEPs and local councillors on June 8. Although these elections never spark the same tension as the general election, the result will give the first actual political snapshot of the two main parties since March 2022.

The five months leading up to the elections will be anything but a walk in the park for the Labour and Nationalist parties. They are both struggling to recruit local councils’ candidates because of what party sources described as demotivation, disillusionment and disempowerment.

The most recent polls show increasing detachment from politics, with the PL possibly heading for the first significant decline in popularity since 2008. While polls show the PN is failing to capitalise on the PL’s  haemorrhage, it is determined to claw back the third MEP seat.

Speculation is mounting that if the PN fails to at least elect its third MEP, it could well be on its way to another leadership contest.

Roberta Metsola’s term as president of the European Parliament will come to an end with the EU elections. A second parliamentary term is possible but unlikely. And if Metsola finds no big doors opening in Brussels, and Grech steps down as PN leader, then a whole new world of local politics will open up for her.

Let’s get the (new) party started?

Speculation has been growing that a new, third political party is brewing.

It remains unclear who, exactly, is behind it and what ideologies it would adopt if it ever happened, but it would likely attempt to position itself as a powerful and influential enough alternative to the many who have become disgruntled by the two big parties.

Smaller parties in Malta have failed to get off the ground for decades, aided by an unfavourable electoral system.

New guest checks in at San Anton

In three months, President George Vella is due to pack his bags and check out of San Anton palace for good.

It seems, however, that PL and PN have not yet started discussing his successor, and while in the past the choice of the new president was largely down to the government, it is entirely different this time.

For the first time in history, the new president must enjoy a two-thirds majority vote in parliament to be appointed.

A leaked shortlist of the PN’s potential three names for the job – Magistrate Joe Mifsud, former PN minister Dolores Cristina and Caritas PR officer Marica Cassar – was largely dismissed by the electorate.

The government has been completely silent on the issue.

Criminal action against a former PM?

All eyes are on the ongoing magisterial inquiry into the hospitals' deal and whether it will recommend criminal action against Joseph Muscat – an outcome that would have a major impact on the country and the Labour Party.

A former prime minister under criminal investigation would be unprecedented for Malta.

Among other things, the inquiry is looking into whether a consultancy contract, which netted Muscat €60,000, could have been used as a vehicle to disguise payments from the hospitals' deal, in plain sight.

Muscat denies all wrongdoing, insisting the money paid to him was for legitimate work and that he does not think the inquiring magistrate is impartial.

Justice for Jean Paul

When Jean Paul Sofia died under the rubble of a collapsed factory just over a year ago, few thought his story would cause such a significant upheaval in the country and in government.

That turmoil is expected to culminate in 2024, when the public inquiry board publishes the conclusions and recommendations of the hotly debated case.

Sofia’s parents and activists hope it will bring about much-needed justice and closure, and shed light on why the construction industry seems to operate in a deeply flawed way.

It is difficult to predict with any certainty what the inquiry will conclude, but the inquiry chairperson has not concealed his shock at the poor oversight from the entities supposed to oversee the industry.

Goodbye Air Malta, as we know it

A new national airline, KM Malta Airlines, will make its maiden flight on March 31, replacing the long-ailing Air Malta.

It comes after several years of government assistance to keep Air Malta flying, with the airline even slimming down its workforce and bringing down its wage bill.

But the European Commission refused to accept a request for fresh state-funding for the carrier which left the government with no choice but to reboot.

Daphne murder trial

It appears to be a never-ending court case, but the trial of Yorgen Fenech, the alleged mastermind of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, could well take place this year. The date will depend on a number of factors, including the various constitutional cases that Fenech has started.

The most recent delay happened after the compilation of evidence against him was reopened, two years after it was concluded.

Three men have already been convicted of their involvement in the brutal murder: Vincent Muscat was sentenced to 15 years and will be a state witness in the trial. Brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio pleaded guilty to their involvement and were each sentenced to 40 years.

Apart from the case against Fenech, there is also the case against the alleged bomb suppliers, which is currently at the compilation-of-evidence stage.

Cannabis goes on sale

Cannabis will go on sale in the first quarter of the new year after two cannabis associations became the first to be granted a licence to operate last October.

This means they can legally grow and sell the drug after Malta became the first European country to legalise the drug in 2021.

The Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis will test the cannabis before it is sold to members of the associations.

Women football frenzy

Malta’s national women’s football team landed a historic promotion during the UEFA Women’s Nations League.

Under the tenacious guidance of Italian coach Manuela Tesse, the players dominated League C, beating Latvia, Andorra and Moldova.

In European women’s football, the UEFA Women’s Nations League also doubles up as the qualifying round for its flagship competition, the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 championship to be held in Switzerland.

That means Maltese women will be playing for two simultaneous objectives: promotion to League A of the UEFA Women’s Nations League as well as qualification to the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025.

The official list of opponents Malta will face will be known in March. Matches will kick off the following month.