With parliament yet to meet on Saturday and the Labour Party still having to elect its new leader following the resignation of Alfred Sant after three successive election defeats, the political situation has not quite settled down yet to what it used to be before the election.
There is more than a hint of anger in the tone used by the Labour Party in dismissing out of hand the government's 'offer' for the Speaker of the House of Representatives to be appointed from among the opposition so long as both sides agree to pairing. The party is taking the proposal as an insult and one contestant to the post of MLP leader, George Abela, has gone so far as to call it a joke.
In other words, Labour has no intention of adding one seat to the majority of one the Nationalists have won, which is obviously irking Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi no end, as clearly shown in an interview in The Sunday Times today. The Labour Party has said that pairing would be considered on a case-by-case basis until the party elects a new leader.
Acting party leader Charles Mangion went a step further when he spoke at the May 1 celebrations in Valletta. He said that pairing was among the tools his party would be using to stop the government from running roughshod over the people's interests.
Translating all this into everyday language, it is clear the scene is set for a somewhat bumpy ride. This does not augur well for the efficient working of parliament. In his interview, the prime minister is blaming Labour for being negative and, in a challenging tone, says: "But we will function. We will meet, if need be, on Saturdays. I will not allow anyone to place obstacles in the way of progress for this country. At the end of the day, if parliament is unable to meet it's not the government that will not be able to operate but it's the country that will be in a difficult position."
True, very true, but then the government did not exactly see to it not to ruffle the opposition's feathers from the start, as it has so unwisely done, by failing to consult it before reapplying for the island's membership of the Partnership for Peace. And yet, only last Sunday, Dr Gonzi was saying, as he has so often said, that it was time to throw out old partisan practices and work together with the opposition in the country's interests.
As they well say, it takes two to tango, and when, therefore, the government, out of choice, rebuffed the opposition party on a matter of considerable importance to it, it could have hardly expected the MLP not to react strongly to the slight.
Maybe this, and Dr Gonzi's insistence that "this is a strong government" and that they intended pressing on with their agenda, is only intended to fight off any impression that he would be running a weak government. Well, Dr Gonzi may not have a Dom Mintoff in his parliamentary team right now, but how can be so sure, as he sounds in his interview, that there will be no one to rock the boat for him?
As the prices of energy and food soar, times are not exactly all that smooth and indeed the European Union is forecasting a slower economic growth rate for Malta for this year and 2009. With all this and an economic prognosis that shows a number of hot spots, such as rising inflation, it appears that Dr Gonzi's government will not have an easy ride.
The irony is that with Labour struggling to re-invent itself, it is likely to receive far more attention than the governing party. If the MLP loses its way, acts rashly or reverts to past tactics, it will remain where it has been for so long, the opposition benches.