Parliament starts its first full year of the new legislature on Monday, with the government facing what will probably be the toughest challenges of the term.

Looming large is the Budget, in three weeks’ time, with the finance minister needing to balance the sustainability of the country’s finances with a widening deficit, rising inflation and the risk of living standards falling.

The twin crises of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine have wiped out the country’s surplus and turned the bottom line red. The plan was for the new deficit to be quickly narrowed as the economy recovered and tax revenue grew. But the prospects for economic bloom do not appear to be as rosy as they were at the start of the year, raising fresh questions about the sustainability of government measures such as the freeze on water, electricity and fuel prices as well as various subsidies. Cost savings to make up for the shortfall, including a sharp cut in infrastructure spending, could, in turn, boomerang on the economy, making a bad situation worse.

The Budget and the financial estimates of various government bodies traditionally take up the autumn sittings of parliament. Indeed, the agenda of the House does not make for exciting reading so far, with about half of the bills related to the transposition of various EU directives to the Maltese statute book.

Perhaps the most important, unfortunately, given the current economic climate, are two bills related to insolvency.

The Pre-Insolvency Bill and the Insolvency Practitioners Bill will introduce a long overdue modern legislative framework on insolvency through regulation of the activities of insolvency practitioners. The bills will also partially transpose an EU directive on preventive restructuring frameworks, discharge of debt and disqualifications.

Related to them is the Commercial Code (Amendment) Bill to strengthen the existing legal framework on bankruptcy.

But away from the immediate legislative agenda, sterner stuff is in store, including bills announced by the justice minister on Wednesday to protect journalists and freedom of expression and, possibly, measures to save or replace Air Malta, to mention just two.

The return of MPs to their benches should also focus minds on other matters related to the proceedings of the House. The most urgent is obviously the appointment of a new commissioner for standards in public life. The fact that no successor could be agreed upon before the term of the incumbent ended is regrettable and flexibility is now expected from both the government and the opposition for a suitable replacement to pick up the reins as soon as possible.

But matters should not stop there. The commissioner, George Hyzler, months ago made recommendations, since backed by the OECD, on improved ethics and transparency standards and how the authority and efficiency of his office could be improved. The ombudsman too has made suggestions regarding his office. Both should be positively considered and legislated upon.

With the legislature still in its early months, this is also the best time for the government and the opposition to resume and, hopefully, make progress on further updating of the constitution and amendments to the electoral laws. It has been a year since the prime minister himself acknowledged that a national debate is needed on the latter, particularly on whether Malta should continue to have 13 electoral districts and whether having fewer could reduce political patronage.

Also, has the time come to introduce a national threshold, giving a better chance for a third party to be elected to parliament instead of having its votes wasted?