The people have spoken again

Yesterday, a third of those entitled to vote in a general election, and then some, as foreigners living in Malta can vote in local elections, were called upon to exercise their right and duty of selecting the people they would want to run their town or village.

Today, as the votes are counted, the country will be getting the results of this major opinion poll. We will be hearing comments about the analysis and interpretation of the number of votes cast, the number of votes won by each political grouping and the seats that these votes translate into in each local council, colouring each local council red or blue.

I hope that this time round, this analysis and interpretation will be serious, objective and deep. That it would explore the real reasons of the people's actions, be they abstentions or shifts in party allegiance or the lack of shifts in party allegiance. That the voting pattern is correctly translated into the message that the people want to give and that nobody will try to shrug the result off.

Good news

We have been hearing a lot of good news lately.

Statistics are showing that the economy is revving up in line with the rest of Europe. We have had the news about progress with SmartCity. The deficit is under control. The budget tax cuts were effective in January, electricity surcharges could be reduced time and again because of the movements in the international oil prices.

All things being equal, the Maltese should be feeling really good and at least the majority who normally vote Nationalist should be voting wholeheartedly for the candidates on the PN list.

Very wrong

If the election results do not show such a response, then they would suggest that there must be something wrong ...very wrong in the people's perception of the government and of our party.

There could be something very wrong in the way the party managers are making their assessments of the people and their moods. There could be something very wrong in the way they are communicating with the people. There could be something very wrong in the way data is being interpreted as reflecting general well-being. There could be something very wrong in the way party resources have been deployed over the past few years. There could be something very wrong in the way that party is managing the party grassroots.

I very much hope that this will not be the case. But if it is, then this must be of great concern for all of us who have the party's interest at heart and especially now as we see the general elections looming closer and closer.

Responsibility

This does put a lot of responsibility on each of us who have some say within the party structures.

Will we go on with a stiff upper lip and a business-as-usual attitude, or will we stop, make an in-depth analysis of the cause and determine accountability?

Will we agree to go to the general elections with this same level of performance and preparedness, and with this same organisation and dynamic that has proved itself unsuccessful time and again; or will we insist on drastic changes in organisation, style, policies and priorities to ensure that our party will be the party that understand the anguish of the people and that is capable of offering concrete viable and credible solutions that will improve the quality of life of everyone in real terms?

Will we be persuaded that the voters' attitude in a general election will be different than that in local elections (even a local election so close to a general election) and that we will win the next election as long as Labour retains its present leadership, or will we concentrate on the links between party and people and the force that we can generate within the party structures to improve our delivery and our performance in the next big test due?

Labour

If the Labour Party posts the same result it did in previous local elections and does not register any noticeable swing towards it, then it also has a big problem.

They can cry victory as much as they like but such a result would show that the Labour Party has not overcome the credibility barrier that has kept it out of office for so many years. It means that the people who are disaffected with the Nationalist Party are not seeing the Labour Party as an alternative.

This would mean that our party still has a golden opportunity to win the next general election if corrective action is taken immediately.

Looking forward

If, on the other hand, there is a swing to Labour, then we should be really worried and we must be very vociferous in demanding a programme of action and reform that would restore our party to the level of support that it merits.

jd@dbms.com.mt