The last weeks in Malta have been dominated by the European and local elections held on June 8.

In both elections, the party that has been governing Malta since 2013 with large majorities saw its lead decrease substantially by a wind of change. Many citizens had been fooled by a superbly run PR campaign based upon a pack of lies wrapped up in the most elegant gift-wrapping which Henley and Partners and Cambridge Analytica prepared for Joseph Muscat.

This villain, and a group of co-conspirators like Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri and advisers like Nexia BT, lawyers, as well as businessmen from so-called fine Maltese families, hotel owners, building contractors and developers allegedly met secretly and hatched plans to rob Malta of its assets, its moral compass and its trust in democracy.

Well, for 10 years they succeeded since, even when the first winds of change blew in 2019 and toppled three of these conspirators from power, the powers behind the throne, that is, the businessmen and advisers to Muscat, produced a rabbit from the magical hat and, hey presto, brought out Robert Abela who promised ‘continuity’. And continuity we got for another five years.

The robbing of the state and the spreading of billions of public-debt-created cash to their most faithful subjects, chosen businessmen and co-conspirators via direct orders just continued. The sight of the arrogant gelled hair, blue ties on white shirted ministers strutting out of, or into, parliament behind the barricades to protect them from the unhappy section of the population was just disgusting.

How they always declined to answer any lawfully placed questions from the political opposition or independent press or to answer with typical PR generated stock and identical answers just made me want to vomit.

I believe the increase in stomach ache among the Maltese population, not scientifically proven, of course, comes from these silly ministers, persons of trusts, acolytes and heads of authorities running the administration of this country.

There was one and only one institution that was not hijacked, even though attempts to hijack it or to frighten it abounded: the judiciary.

Since the police, army, attorney general, head of the civil service were all compromised and in fear or in awe of the wunderkind captain of our ship, Abela, there was no hope for change except via the courts, the auditor general and the ombudsman (all constitutionally protected from the talons and claws of Muscat and, then, Abela). This latter group has delivered what was expected of them.

Others like the Planning Authority, MTA, Transport Authority, FIAU and MFSA failed the population.

We were told by ministers to ignore all the signs sent by the courts through their magisterial inquiries or by the public inquiries but to rely on the electorate to give another huge majority to those in power and, in this way, to absolve all from their mortal sins.

There was one institution that was not hijacked, even though attempts to hijack it or to frighten it abounded: the judiciary- John Vassallo

We were told to expect a tsunami that would wash away for good all opposition and would wash away all criminal liability whatever the courts would eventually decide when the criminal gang is eventually brought to trial.

But the tsunami coming from the south killing all opposition as forecast did not materialise. Instead, we got a tsunami, compounded with the Roberta Metsola (of the famous denied handshake) effect, that came from all sides of the island washing away the 42,000 majority that Labour had in the last election for the European Parliament. (If one adds the votes cast for the PN to the votes cast for the independent or minor parties together, then Labour is the smallest party by more than 10,000 votes).

In the election to the local councils, the damage to Labour was not so drastic but, even here, when one adds the votes for the PN to the votes of the independents one gets 123,848 votes (109,000 in 2019, an increase of 15,000 or an 12% increase) as against the 134,767 for Labour (150,000 in 2019, a loss of 15,000 votes or a 10% loss), Labour is still the biggest force but only by around 10,000 votes.

This tells us that either the switchers have come back to their senses or that the mothers and grandmothers of Labour voters, the moral backbone of Maltese society, have found their virtuous nature and belief in justice and are beginning to persuade their sons and daughters to stop chasing Mammon and to chastise criminal and corrupt leaders for the first time since they did the same in 1981 and 1987 when they even toppled Dom Mintoff. How easily will they topple the less loved Abela at the next election?

I suppose a frightened, but arrogant, Abela could attempt an early election, or call one at the last possible date in 2026/2027 hoping that more borrowing to give vote-buying handouts would overcome the arousal of moral values that caused the counter tsunami that crushed the Labour Party last week.

Time will only tell. I hold my moral beliefs that my co-citizens are deep down a morally sound people and, as Daphne always said, truth and justice will prevail. But, on her last day, she also said in her famous last words: “There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate.”  And it has now been 80 months since her murder, which is still unsolved.

Hopefully, before the next election this and the other cases still to be opened, like the Electrogas robbery, the Pilatus Bank robbery and the Panama Papers robbery, will tip the scales against Abela once and for all.

John Vassallo is a former ambassador to the EU.