So now half of this nation is euphoric that the right cause won. The other half is perplexed. When the losing half truly recognise and openly accept why they lost, we have a chance of living in a free country...

And this will only be a free country when we do not feel worried about a particular party being elected, where the sick and dying do not need to be dragged out to vote and where holiday plans do not have to be changed at short notice.

Alfred Sant's resignation, while gentlemanly, is not enough. Labour have to realise that the venom of people like Manwel Cuschieri are vote-losers too.

Labour not only lost because they backed the wrong cause - 'partnership' as opposed to membership. Labour lost because the majority of us as a nation were afraid to have them back.

The new Labour team must be a team of conciliators. They must be able to appeal to the middle classes and not be a party which is indistinguishable from certain negative elements in the General Workers Union.

It will be hard. Labour voters and Labour grassroots have always been attracted by leaders who are not team players, leaders with too large egos. The Nationalists on the one hand have only had one leader in the time Labour had three (and now a fourth!) and that man has survived and thrived because his is not the politics of confrontation and hate. His was not the politics of retribution.

Labour have to understand there is a big difference between what their grassroots admire and what the people want. The people want a Labour leader who will fill them with confidence, and who will help us to make the most of our membership of the EU.

Labour have behaved badly in recent years. It was not the thuggery when they were in government but it was emotional thuggery. They refused to be part of pensions reform. They refused to be part of anything where they perceived a short-term vote could be gained.

Their media, to their shame, relentlessly attacked those who were not wrong and they have paid a price. They tried to dirty those who were not dirty and the dirt ended up back on their faces.

And people fear this kind of dirt-throwing, in the same way they fear the playground bully. We know we may not be the victims now but it could be us tomorrow.

And fear is a very potent force in a small community where we all know someone who has either suffered in the past under Labour administrations or was hassled while they were in Opposition.

Labour therefore not only need new leadership and better PR. They need to become far cleverer and abandon the politics of boycott and intimidation which has characterised these last few years.

And now we know who has been voted in and out and who has made it or remade it to ministerial or parliamentary rank. This too needs to be looked at more closely. It is truly depressing how many of the nice candidates fail to get elected. It is truly depressing how money, influence and power, within and without our political parties are such a strong force.

But on the other hand I was glad to see some who had been mercilessly attacked and unfairly blamed for our environmental mess, like Francis Zammit Dimech, get re-elected despite all the Labour campaigning against him.

A great result too for Giovanna Debono who worked so hard and increased her vote as she truly deserved to do. And amazing for the Nationalists to again have two MPs from Cottonera - Lawrence Gonzi and Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici.

The re-election of these two refuted the lie that the Nationalists only worked for Brussels. Dr Gonzi has worked hard for over four years on local and EU issues - and yet has never been to Brussels, as I only found out lately.

Normally as my boss I avoid writing about him but its another lesson for Labour. It was useless lying and saying that Nationalist ministers only worked for the Brussels cause because a lot more was done in these last few years than just negotiatng a good deal for Malta in Europe.

Let's hope this country and its political leaders now get together and augur a new era of less divide and rule, less lies and more honesty.

We need all the good people we have, of whatever political colour to make a success of this country.

The Prime Minister could not have been less triumphalistic about his victory. Lets see the same modesty and hard work in the next five years, among the new Cabinet and among the newly-led Opposition.

Next time we could all be winners...