The result of last Saturday’s elections has given all those involved in the political sphere of our country much food for thought and I think that both major parties need to analyse this result seriously and in depth in order to come to the right conclusions.

Decisions need to be taken with a strengthened social conscience…- David Casa

What is surely undeniable was the clear manifestation of citizens’ protests, with thousands opting either not to collect their voting document or not to vote. While this could be interpreted as apathy towards local elections, I think that the main reason behind this huge absenteeism was the fact that a huge chunk of the electorate wanted to pass on a message to both the Labour and Nationalist parties that change is necessary before they can decide who to choose in the upcoming general election.

The outcome of last Saturday’s vote is a clear indication that while many are disgruntled with the Nationalist Party for some reason or another, they are still not ready to trust the Labour Party with the leadership of this country. The fact that, globally, Labour only gained 150 votes indicates that its gimmicks do not go down easily with the electorate.

However, the message sent to the PN is one that must be taken seriously and now is the time to act on the promises that were made.

It is a fact that during these turbulent economic times, the government made important decisions to save our country from financial collapse. But it is also true that a government needs to be close to its people to further understand their needs and to be able to hear their pleas and complaints.

It is now time to evaluate and give the message transmitted by the electorate its due weight and move closer to the people. Decisions need to be taken with a strengthened social conscience and we need to understand further what the people want from this leadership.

It is of extreme importance to make the utmost of the message that the electorate has sent and act upon it as fast and as effectively as possible.

We must also increase the contact between the Administration and the man in the street. We need to explain our motives and moves in more detail and be open and ready for change when need be.

The electoral process that we have just been through has shown us that our voters know how to use their vote diligently and they have exploited the use of this primary tool of democracy to its maximum last Saturday. The turnout and the result are a crystal clear indication that our voters know how to make the distinction between local, European and general elections and use their vote accordingly.

We are now living in a society whose voting trends have changed in these last few decades. People no longer just vote PN or PL because they were brought up that way. They vote (or choose not to vote) for what they think is best for their families and for themselves. For this reason, I think that the PL’s decision to treat this local election campaign as if it were a general election was incorrect and devious.

The hunger for power that Joseph Muscat and his followers have is so strong that they wanted an excuse to celebrate a victory. The figures tell us that Labour obtained a majority in these elections. However, this majority was obtained with the same numbers as in 2009, so Labour must be very cautious before blowing its horns too loudly.

The electorate should be very wary of the attitude adopted by the PL and I have no doubt that even the electorate will be doing its own evaluations of the result and on the reaction of both parties and the two leaders.

The PN was never afraid to admit its mistakes. Not only, but it made the necessary amends to turn failures into successes. The run-up to these elections has given us a clear picture, that while the PL opted to criticise the governance of this country, the PN’s focus was on the localities and their needs and rightly so.

Results aside, what is now crucial is that elected councillors focus on the job at hand and ensure that they work together, irrespective of political allegiances, for the benefit of their localities.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.