Dear ministers, please note

The result of the European Parliament elections has brought about a reality we cannot fail to acknowledge. The two results in the short span of one year clearly indicate that the people are not happy with the ministers' conduct but still want them to govern. The people are trying to remind them that, contrary to what most of the ministers believe, they are primarily elected politicians and not just appointed managers. This means that, while their managerial skills must have influenced the Prime Minister's decision to appoint them ministers, he never asked them, and nor did the people who elected them, to act as managers while forgetting their political calling.

Ministers have proved to be very focused on the bigger picture of the country's needs while making sure to work on the deadlines imposed on them both by the office they occupy and the European Union. Yet, in doing so, they seemed to ignore the ripple effects caused by those macro decisions. People affected by those decisions have been looking for channels through which to air their feelings. Some have used personal contacts but never received a reply. Others have gone to the party headquarters only to find overworked employees inundated with lists of people awaiting a reply. Some tried venting their frustration through the party media but the small audience it attracts does not seem to include the ministers, their communications officers or any of their secretariats. Many have tried sending long e-mails explaining their plight only to receive polite replies telling them that their case is under investigation.

Not able to turn anywhere else, the people saw an opportunity to use, or not use, their voting document. Some, determined to send an early message, just didn't collect it. Others accepted it to avoid being pestered during the electoral campaign but did not turn up at the polling station. Another section went to vote but changed the family's traditional voting pattern. Though selecting different routes, all these people wanted to say the same thing: We're people not numbers!

Labour has thrived over the ministers' lack of empathy for those who have been trying to find justice for their cause. It's incredible how a party with no programme, a party that always got it wrong in the major decisions our country had to make and a party that, only a year ago was shunned by the electorate, now makes such an astounding victory over a government that was bold enough to recognise the needs of the country, wise enough to introduce the euro at the right time and smart enough to cruise through the global crisis saving jobs and still able to attract investment.

Alas, the government is too busy to stop making reforms and spend some quality time with its electorate in order to explain and give it breathing space to take in the rapid changes flying in from every corner of the Administration.

It seems that the ministers' managerial schedules do not permit some time for the politician in them to emerge. Because they attend party events, at which the same faces are always present, they have a clear conscience that their constituency obligations have been fulfilled.

However, how much time do they dedicate each week to make sure that the people's plights are addressed? Do they appreciate that this forms part of their job description?

Ministers ought to realise that people are crying out for attention. Intelligently they've sent a strong message without risking their future in Labour's hands. Ministers should not push them any further to make the final shift that could mean a disaster for the country.

Mr Portelli is the president of the Nationalist Party's administrative council.