Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/919364
maltatoday SUNDAY 24 DECEMBER 2017 2 News Public Consulta on PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION & VALLETTA 2018 The Parliamentary Secretary for Consumer Protection and Valletta 2018, Deo Debattista has launched a Public Consultation with residents & business owners in Valletta on proposed changes in the Litter Act regarding waste management in Valletta. More information about this Public Consultation can be found on konsultazzjoni.gov.mt. All those who wish to provide any feedback, can do so on: customercare.cleansing@gov.mt or freephone 1718 (by not later than 15th January 2018) #acleanervalletta C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Litter Act Newspaper Ads .pdf 1 21/12/2017 09:11 Christmas specials • Politics Of seesaws and baptisms Joseph Muscat's seesaw year It was the year Joseph Muscat secured a second successive electoral victory but getting there was not as straightforward as he would have liked it. Preparations within the Labour Party had been underway since the beginning of the year for a possible early election. Buoyed by positive trust ratings and a feel-good factor, the Prime Minister wanted to have all options open to hold an election anytime in the 12 months leading to March 2018. When the db Group scandal rocked the Nationalist Party in March, many within the PL believed the moment to go to the polls had arrived. With the Opposition party having to fend off accusations it received private finance to cover the salaries of top officials under the guise of false invoices, many felt its good governance platform was dented. The circumstances meant that a comfortable election vic- tory was possible for Muscat but the plan almost went haywire when the Egrant allegations came to the fore in April. From the high spot on the seesaw, Muscat suddenly found himself heading downwards. But in a game of brinkmanship he went on the attack, ask- ing for a magisterial inquiry into the allegations targeting his wife and pinning his political career to the outcome. The move worked. He halted the downward trajectory of the seesaw. People were more willing to trust him over his rival Simon Bu- suttil and in a climate of general wellbeing the electorate felt it should not change a winning horse. After a terse and sour electoral campaign, Muscat seesawed back up with an electoral victory of historic proportions that disoriented the Nationalist Party. The election aftermath that saw the PN riven by internal ri- valry saw Muscat maintain the high until October's murder of journalist and long-time critic Daphne Caruana Galizia. The murder shocked the country and led to several protests as the rule of law in Malta came under intense international scrutiny. Again, Muscat acted fast: he called in foreign police agencies to help in the murder investigation and lifted the lid on any spending limits to "leave no stone unturned". Despite the flak from the European Parliament, the Civil So- ciety Network and the Opposition, Muscat's seesaw did not buckle. He may have had his ambitions for a top EU post dent- ed by the ugly incident but in the eyes of the Maltese public, his handling of the murder was generally perceived to be good. His trust rating in November, as measured in a MaltaToday survey, stood at an all-time high since becoming Prime Min- ister in 2013. But more important, the survey also found that people generally did not agree with statements that Malta had become a mafia state and the country was experiencing a cli- As 2017 comes to a close Kurt Sansone looks at the fortunes of the two men shaping Malta's political destiny KURT SANSONE