Make no mistake about it, that of Saturday was not an election about the European Union or the European Parliament.

It was a straightforward contest between the government and the Opposition, as represented by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil.

It was basically a test of the government’s performance over the past 14 months, as symbolised by the Prime Minister.

The result was unbelievable, in percentage and absolute terms. It gives the Nationalist Party a hard bone to chew upon.

It is fresh confirmation that negative campaigning does not necessarily work. It hurts those targeted personally, but it does not convince others.

People are fed up with personalised politics. They showed that in the general election. They confirmed it on Saturday.

The question now is how will the result affect the leaders and the parties. An early question put to me was: will Simon Busuttil have to go? I do not think so.

He set his marker as winning a third seat. In the internal autopsy that will take place in his party, Busuttil might moot the point about whether to remain.

Probably reluctantly, he will be asked to stay. Which, unless he passes through a metamorphosis, might be good for Labour.

How will Muscat react to Saturday’s outcome?

Yesterday, as soon as the percentage and absolute results were guesstimated, he gave a live comment to One News.

He said the extent of the result was not expected by Labour, greeting it with humility and stressing the point that it was now back to work straightaway.

That is the right approach. The government, thumping Saturday victory notwithstanding, has a lot to think about.

I do not think that Labour won so handsomely because of the government’s performance. The victory was due to Muscat himself.

Very cleverly, he made the contest one between him and Busuttil.

He threw down the gauntlet, which Busuttil looked weak in not picking up. Capitalising on that, the Labour leader campaigned for all he was worth.

He did so more keenly than when he won the PL leadership, even the 2013 general election itself.

The government, the thumping Saturday victory notwithstanding, has a lot to think about

On those two occasions he had a very articulate campaigning machine to back him. It was not so evident in the campaign leading to the Saturday vote.

The campaigning was mostly done by the Labour leader himself, pitching at disgruntled Labourites who threatened to stay at home and less so to switchers who might have been regretting how they cast their vote in March 2013.

He hit the right notes. Most of the Labour vote turned out on Saturday, consolidating Muscat’s absolute majority.

The point now is what he will make out of all this. He cannot spend most, or even much, of his time campaigning. He has a country to run, a national management team to lead, which has not been performing brilliantly.

There is certainly more vim than under the last years of the Gonzi administration. Yet, there is not enough focus. There is still too much bureaucracy around.

The Prime Minister should listen to what some of the heads managing the public sector have to say.

There is a lot in the pipeline. It has to be helped to move smoothly into efficient execution.

Four years to the general election is a long time, with no voting contest intervening.

That does not mean that the government will not be constantly under critical scrutiny.

The Nationalist Opposition, if it ditches its negativity and acts more like a democratic alternative government in waiting, can make a good fist of keeping the government on its toes.

Those who rightfully expect something from the government, be they Labour or not, have a right to be dealt with without delay and efficaciously.

The Prime Minister, majority and all, needs to tell those around him, at the first and second layers in particular, to pull up their socks.

The general election and EP victories quickly become water under the bridge. The country needs good governance going forward.

Muscat, though he is human and has made mistakes, has also shown that he can give it.

That performance must be improved and emulated by the rest of the political and executive team that manages Malta.