Other than the formal apology he made for his party's past wrongs, most of what Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat said in his maiden speech in Parliament has already been said before by politicians eager to leave a mark in Malta's political history. However, a vision born at the start of a political career can very well get blurred in time as circumstances change, making difficult the keeping of principles so enthusiastically extolled at first. History, including Malta's, is not short of such examples. Labour's new vision, as painted by the new leader, can hardly be faulted on anything he said. But what will count most is whether it keeps to this vision.

Dr Muscat's first test will come when the government presents the budget for next year. Judging by the way he has been arguing lately, he risks making criticism that will be politically partisan in nature rather than objective, as the situation today warrants. The Labour leader says the word opposition had a negative connotation that could lead to one expecting a group of moaners who said no to everything. His party is well versed in the interpretation of the word as it generally lived up to its meaning for years. So, it is good to know now that this would not be the kind of opposition he will be leading in Parliament. On the basis of his declaration, and of that of the Nationalist leader, who once also proclaimed that he wished to promote a new way of doing politics, the country expects to see the beginning of a new era in Parliament.

The new Labour leader has come as a breath of fresh air to many Labour supporters, even though it was first generally thought that the right man for the job was George Abela. Dr Muscat has managed to draw support and enthusiasm by appealing to the young and at the same time building bridges with those who had distanced themselves from the party. Unifying Labour will be a very important feather in his cap when the time comes for the electorate to once again cast its vote in a general election. However, Labour would require more than this to win the people's confidence.

A key word Dr Muscat used in his maiden speech is trust. Labour, he said, did not want the people to give them their trust because things were going awry or because they had had enough of the government but because they could see in it a positive force that would make the situation better, that would embrace progressive values and rally all moderates to its side. Earning the people's trust is easier said than done. Right now, Labour has the disadvantage of having been so dramatically wrong in its sense of direction for Malta. EU membership was a major policy matter and Labour's mistake cannot be brushed off as easily from the people's minds as the party may think.

The MLP's beliefs in Malta, as outlined by Dr Muscat, are generally in tune with those of the Nationalist Party. They were not always so, though, especially as regards one cardinal principle: who ought to govern or not in a democracy. It had taken time for Labour to mend its ways. Otherwise, both parties have much in common today and it remains the degree to which the electorate can trust a party in government that will determine whether or not Dr Muscat will become the next Prime Minister.