Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday described the first 100 days of his new government as the most peaceful and normal days Malta has been through in recent years. He had a point too – with Parliament in recess and the Opposition in turmoil, his administration has been so far been spared the bombardment of criticism which had characterised the months leading up to the general election.

During the election, Muscat had promised the next five years will see Malta become “the best country in the world” and, while he has a lot of work left to do if he is to live up to that lofty promise, there have been some clear hints of progress in the first 100 days. Here are 11 of the best ones. 

1. Malta legalises gay marriage

As promised, the first law to pass under the new administration was one to legalise same-sex marriage – putting into place the final major legislative cog in the LGBT+ revolution which started back in 2013. As civil unions had already given same-sex couples all the rights of married couples three years ago, the law was more symbolic than anything else but it earns a place in our list because it proved how far Malta has come in so little time. 

Back in 2011, we were one of the only countries in the world not to have legalised divorce and gay marriage was an absolute no-go area (even for Muscat). Fast-forward six years and the gay marriage law flew through Parliament with hardly any obstacles, save for a few rumblings from the Opposition and a protest by the pro-life crowd. A clear sign of the times.

2. ‘Ship Of Hate’ denied entry

This will surely be a controversial pick, but Muscat’s outright refusal to allow entry of a ship which had been deployed in the Mediterranean to stop migrants crossing to Europe was a bold, but much-needed, move which signalled a complete breakaway from his old ‘pushbacks’ policy. 

His message rang loud and clear: “Malta will not be used by right-wing racist, not to say Nazi, groups.” 

Now let’s hope he puts that slogan in practice on home soil, and not let the voting power of far-right groups derail efforts to integrate migrants into Maltese society. 

3. Traffic hotspots being tackled

Malta’s traffic problem has now become so severe, it will likely require very controversial policy decisions sooner or later. Labour’s tactic so far has been to tweak the road infrastructure so as to reduce congestion at key hotspots – in these 100 days, the Kappara junction partially opened, the notorious bottleneck between Mosta and the Lija roundabout was removed, and works have started to widen the road leading up from the roundabout by the Pavi supermarket in Qormi. 

These are clearly short-term solutions, but they seem to be working so far…

4. Super-cordial deputy leader contest

With the constant drama in the PN’s leadership election, it is easy to forget the Labour Party has only recently gone through its own similar contest – for a deputy leader and deputy Prime Minister. Labour’s contest, which health minister Chris Fearne ultimately won, was hardly an edge of your seat thriller yet it served its purpose and it served it well. 

Apart from finance minister Edward Scicluna’s off-the-cuff remark on how the Prime Minister had personally asked him to contest the race, there was no visible friction at all between the three candidates and no threat the Labour Party was going to emerge from it bruised and battered.

5. Home for ALS patients to open

This announcement passed under the radar a bit but the government recently struck a deal with a NGO run by ALS patient turned local celebrity Bjorn Formosa to build a specialised house for neurological patients. As revealed by Formosa, the home is set to open next month – fulfilling the dream of a young man whose battle against his illness has warmed the hearts of the Maltese public.

6. Finally… some strip club regulations 

For several years, the ever-growing number of strip clubs in Paceville have been operating within a legal lacuna with no specific regulation. That looks set to change now, with tourism minister Konrad Mizzi unveiling plans to regulate strip clubs and ban strippers from escorting clients to private lap dancing rooms. 

Although prostitution is illegal, it is a well-known secret many of the strippers are also prostitutes and use the privacy and intimacy of the back-room private rooms to negotiate prices for sex in a nearby apartment or hotel room. The new law still needs to be fleshed out and will not work without strict enforcement, yet it is a first step.

7. Malta starts blockchain revolution

Joseph Muscat’s lofty plan to turn Malta into the first country to fully embrace blockchain, the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, started gaining traction in these first 100 days. 

The Malta Gaming Authority will soon allow i-gaming operators to use cryptocurrencies, and parliamentary secretary Silvio Schembri revealed blockchain will be implemented across the board within the public sector – which could herald a new era of transparency in public records such as the Lands Registry. 

The government’s plans for Bitcoin itself are still cloudy, and Malta’s first Bitcoin ATM highlighted the potential pitfalls of leaving it completely unregulated.

8. Clampdown on deckchairs and umbrellas

Better late than never. After several consequent summers characterised by beaches clogged with beaches and umbrellas, the police finally clamped down on the racket and removed hundreds of illegally-placed beach furniture from Armier and Ta’ Fra Ben, while the Malta Tourism Authority removed the licence of a kiosk which continued flouting the law afterwards. 

Muscat has now also warned restaurants and bars strict enforcement will soon begin on tables and chairs illegally encroaching the sidewalk. It’s funny that the authorities must be praised for simply enforcing the law, but they have been turning a blind eye to this for ages so it makes the list.

9. Free cancer medications 

The government has pledged to add all cancer medication to its formulary list by 2020. It is an ambitious and expensive proposal but the ball has certainly been set rolling within its first 100 days. Four new drugs – used to treat prostate cancer, breast cancer, leukaemia and bladder cancer respectively – are now available for free at Mater Dei. There can be no real arguments against this one.

10. Much-needed pledge to clean up Malta

Muscat used a ceremony held yesterday to commemorate Labour’s first 100 days to announce a couple of interesting plans in the pipeline – including some to tackle Malta’s serious waste and littering problem, often flagged by tourists visiting our shores. 

Specifically, he promised to introduce a ‘money back’ for plastic bottles  – whereby an extra charge will be added to plastic bottles as a deposit, which people will be able to reclaim when returning the bottles to a shop to be recycled. Such rewarding systems are commonplace in other European countries and it is welcome news to see Malta catching up. 

Also promising, from an environmental point of view, was Muscat’s indication of an upcoming shift from landfills as the country’s main waste management system.  

11. An electric car nation

Cars are constantly clogging Malta’s streets, but how many of them are electric? Not many, despite a number of grant schemes to incentivise their use. Nevertheless Muscat yesterday pledged to announce timelines by which all new cars introduced on the island will have to be electric – following in the footsteps of the Netherlands, France and the UK. 

Any timeline will likely be decades from now, meaning it is not a policy Muscat will get to oversee himself. Yet he is laying the foundations for what will ultimately mean cleaner air all round. 

BONUS: Training academy for women politicians

The LEAD academy to blood women politicians is actually an initiative by the Labour Party and not the Labour government, although several ministers as well as the Prime Minister himself will get to train the women. 85 women have applied for the programme, out of which 35 will be chosen and trained in view of contesting the next general election. 

Some have derided the scheme as patronising, but female participation in Maltese politics is notoriously low – only 11% of the 377 candidates in June’s election were women, which was actually a lower percentage than the 2013 election. Something is clearly holding women back from taking the plunge, and this training academy could be an innovative way of bridging the gap without resorting to the positive discrimination of gender quotas. 

What did you make of Labour’s first 100 days in government? Let us know in the comments section

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]