The referendum result is something of a miracle for Malta. It certainly did not turn out how we would have liked – we continue to believe that hunting in spring is an abhorrent activity – but at least it showed that 49 per cent of the country can vote for something they believe in when the political forces are against them.

This is no small matter. It may be a pyrrhic victory, but it is the solace that so many well-intentioned people, who really love their country rather than their selfish interests, can draw from what we have seen unfold in the past few weeks.

People who favoured the No campaign – that includes us – did not do so because they have anything against the hunting community. We have nothing against them other than their consistent efforts to hold politicians to ransom.

People who favoured the No campaign did so because they genuinely believe it is wrong to shoot at birds as they migrate to breed and that there is too little countryside in Malta to accommodate men firing shotguns for so much of the year (let’s not forget the long autumn hunting season). Ours is a positive motivation, driven by a genuine and deep-seated concern for the environment that surrounds us, rather than a dislike for one group or another.

But whatever our motivations, the Yes vote won. And while we accept the result of this democratic process without question, it is worth analysing how this came to be, since all the surveys conducted at the outset showed an unquestionable majority in favour of the No vote.

The fact is that one does not have to look too far for the answer.

The day Joseph Muscat came out and pronounced himself in favour of the Yes vote was the day that the No lobby knew they had a fight against Goliath on their hands. And while they huffed and puffed over the past few weeks, they just couldn’t blow this giant down.

Had Dr Muscat declared how he was going to vote and left it at that – as Simon Busuttil did, even though we were critical of his stand – he would have given the No lobby a fighting chance. But as the vote got closer, he seemed to revel in the knowledge that he could swing the vote with his utterances – and the temptation to flex his electoral muscle just proved too tantalising to resist.

Such was the fear of his political might – the 37,000 majority he gained two years ago has, for a period of time, made him untouchable – that the No lobby dared not criticise his interference just in case he spoke out vociferously against their cause. They knew this would be a death knell.

But, as things turned out, his clear support – and, just as tellingly, his party’s clear support – for the hunters’ cause meant that the No lobby would have had nothing to lose if they’d said it as it was. This was not a fight the hunters could have won on their own, but one that required the assistance of Malta’s most powerful political force.

Where does this leave us? A little depressed, it has to be said. Depressed that politicians interfere in every aspect of our lives. Depressed that people seem to want it this way.

But, above all, depressed that people care more about themselves than they do about our environment – which is the biggest loser of all.