Within hours of writing this I will watch as the PN is awarded additional seats in Parliament in order to have one more than the opposition. The last additional seat they gain will represent the 1,200 vote margin which grants the PN absolute power for the next five years. The 3,810 people who voted Green will not enjoy minimal representation in their country's Parliament. The average electoral backing of every single one of the 69 new MPs will be less that that of the Greens.
With a nearly 100 per cent increase in Green support since the 2003 national election, the pundits are dressing up for our funeral again. It has become an electoral ritual complete with their regular disappointment. Once more we have been foiled by the system while for at least the third time we should by rights be celebrating our representation in Parliament. The feeling is of frustration, even bitterness, but not of defeat. We have sustained the greatest direct assault in our history and we have survived. It is not enough.
In this election Alternattiva Demokratika should have entered a new phase of its service to the Maltese public. It should have taken its place in Parliament and been able to contribute to political debate through constructive criticism giving voice to its crucial electoral location. Because we will not, I will keep my word and offer my resignation at the next extraordinary general meeting of the Greens.
With PBS still in election mode, my offer of resignation, unfortunately timed with the resignations of Alfred Sant and Josie Muscat, was made out to be on a par with the defeat of Labour for the third time in a row and Dr Muscat shaking the dust from his sandals. It means nothing of the sort for the Greens. We are still fighting fit. We have given our giant adversaries a tremendous run for their money. With almost nil resources we have taken the brunt of the direct up-close-and-personal assault and character assassination attempt of the PN and we are still smiling.
It did become a wider smile when we watched a sea of people celebrating democratic defeat. What on earth would they have done if they had the approval of a majority of the electorate? It was a release of tension, but triumphalism...? It was Kenneth Zammit Tabona wiping the tears of his terror as he popped the champagne. It was Daphne enjoying the ħamallaġni, wondering how her reputation will survive the overdose of vitriol.
Life is about living and Greens live gloriously. What a fight it has been! What a glorious fight. There are 3,810 of us who have been confirmed resilient to fear and propaganda blatant and subliminal. Perhaps I was born a snob, but I am grinning with pride in being Green. The fewer we are and the more massive the hysteria, the taller I stand. Ninety-eight point seven per cent of the voting population may take offence at it, but I find it hard to hide my satisfaction in not being counted among them. My bond with our splendid core support is unbreakable. What terrific, rare people they are!
With our presence in Parliament we would have been able to bring about a much greater political culture change and much faster. Still, our 1.3 per cent has begun the process. For the first time in 41 years no political party has an absolute majority of the vote. I prefer to say it another way: We are all minorities. It should be a sobering thought and the government party especially should be more inclined to modesty. Instead we have triumphalism to hide the bare facts. To give him credit, Lawrence Gonzi spoke of togetherness and of uniting the country when facing the milling sea of people. With his adversaries still bruised and bleeding from his blows, it takes greater magnanimity to listen than to talk.
Having spent the last 36 years of my life in opposition, not being among the victors is nothing new to me. What is new is the fact that it is a universal experience after this election. The math shows that AD plus MLP comes to more than PN, which is the government by law and concession of the majority. Now that is new. We have every right to expect a new style of government, less arrogance, more respect of the other side, no bulldozer tactics, no more justification of the unjustifiable. We shall see.
In the 2003 referendum victory celebrations, Arnold Cassola and I were toasted by the mainly PN crowd as we walked through Freedom Square packed end to end with Yes to EU supporters. They kept telling us to stick with them afterwards. Arnold and I already knew that their leadership would not allow it. The crowd was warm, loving and sincere.
On Sunday morning, on my way to the counting hall, I stopped in the square in Naxxar. A parking place presented itself miraculously across the road from the MLP club. I was hoping for a moment's quiet in the deserted church before I walked into the counting hall. All the church doors were shut tight.
It took just a moment to walk back around the church to my car but the crowd was now waiting for me. I could not refuse their invitation to a drink at the bar. They too were warm, loving and sincere. If anyone there took a picture, I want a copy. I stood with my back to the bar while my hand was pumped during Labour's brief foretaste of victory. It was surreal but beautiful.
Among the unique privileges I have enjoyed as the leader of Malta's smallest political party, the love and the respect of ordinary men and women of all political parties will always remain the one most cherished. These are my people, my adversaries, my friends. They help me believe that nothing is impossible.
Dr Vassallo is chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika - the Green party.
www.alternattiva.org.mt, www.adgozo.com