But one of the attractions of the administration process - which was created by Labour when they were in power - is that it is quick.
The Nationalist Party has governed Malta since 1987, apart from 1996-1998 when Labour was in power.
Before the summer recess they were shrugging off accusations that they had failed to hit the ground running, that having done what Labour does best in Wales - win power - they were now busily proving that they weren't too sure what to do with it - in other words, what came next.
He held a number of ministerial posts during Labour's 13-year reign of power.
The Labour government in power in the mid-1970s had tried to spend to stimulate the economy, but inflation soared to nearly 25%.
The Lib Dem leader says that it was "a mistake" to make a pledge that couldn't be delivered when there was no money to pay for it and when his party was only likely to be in power in coalition with Labour or the Conservatives - both of whom were committed to increase tuition fees.
This is Labour's first budget since it took power in May - previous administrations had also frozen council tax levels.
In addition, as the party already in power in Westminster, Labour cannot, without self-criticism, suggest a different agenda for Wales.
In a small way, the measures to cut German welfare benefits may help if they encourage more non-workers into the labour force and boost consumers' spending power.
In a nod towards old Labour, the first thing New Labour did in power was to abolish the Tories' assisted-places scheme, which enabled brighter pupils from poorer backgrounds to take up state-funded places at the top public schools.
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In return for this autonomy, which a lot of heads welcome, Labour says that it wants the power to fire heads of under-performing schools.
But there is also a longer-term explanation, based on the weakened power of labour after the entry of countries like China into the global employment market.
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They are questioning whether the now-bankrupt energy trader gave financial support to Labour after it came power in 1997 and wherther it helped change government policy?
In particular, Mr Hunt argued it resisted the temptation of telling the service how this should be achieved - unlike the target culture that characterised Labour's years in power.
But if Labour is returned to power next year with its majority and self-confidence much reduced, it will be time for a new Conservative leader to rediscover some old ideas.
Now the Tories are split between those who think power will come from elbowing Labour aside in the centre-ground and those who think they should eschew anything Blairite and seek to be distinctively Conservative.
Yet surely the brute power of economics, sucking women into 19th-century labour forces, must have played its part?
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But Labour has also stressed its commitment to localism - despite critics' claims it centralised power during its time in government.
When Labour came to power, he was put in charge of a new super-ministry of the environment, transport and the regions.
When they did so Cameron would have been accused of being in office but not in power- someone who couldn't, to quote the Labour leader, organise anything in a brewery.
Paul Krugman credits the Reagan-era assault on labour unions and regulations with a decline in workers' bargaining power.
And Labour's unpopularity gives the Liberal Democrats an even stronger motive for avoiding power-sharing: they may be able to seize power themselves.
Shortly after Labour came to power, for instance, it announced a moratorium on new gas-fired power stations in order to help the coal industry.
She shattered the power of British labor unions while forcing the Labour Party to say bye-bye to nationalized industry and hello to a severely reduced welfare state and free markets.
Last year the AFL-CIO, America's labour federation, split as members anguished over its flagging power.
And he admitted that Labour had not done enough to tackle deep-rooted moral problems during its 13 years in power.
It ultimately has the power to choose whether to let her stand as Labour candidate or to de-select her but the verdict of the NEC could prove decisive.
The power of trade unions has been reduced, national pay bargaining and other labour-market rigidities scrapped, and cuts in tax rates and stricter rules for claiming unemployment benefits have improved the incentive to work.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has insisted no decision has been taken on whether, if returned to power in 2015, Labour would stick with the coalition's spending plans - as Tony Blair did for two years after winning the 1997 election.
Even before the recession, which will wreak lasting havoc on their earning power and trust in government, the market had ceased rewarding diligent, low-skilled labour with reasonable pay and benefits.
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