Obviously, the Labour Party obtained the majority in the local elections and, in a democratic country, they are declared the political winners.

This result, however, shows signs of what we Maltese see as the demographic political status on the island. We have seen many happy faces on either sides of the political table and it is so for some obvious reasons.

The Labour Party claimed victory, and no one is to deny that, however, it is not the first government that has won the majority of votes in a local council election.

On the other hand, the Nationalist Party had the objective of narrowing the gap of 17 per cent from the last elections held in 2012 and it succeeding in doing so. The party even superseded its own targets, managing to halve the gap in a 12-month timeframe.

In an in-depth analysis, this shows signs that should make both parties wary.

The Labour Party’s figures were heavily dented in the south and pro-Labour districts.

More worrying would be the shift towards the Nationalist Party. This could be a first time for staunch Labour sympathisers to vote for the Nationalist Party in their hundreds (or thousands).

On the other hand, we are seeing a contradictory trend in Gozo, which was a pro-Nationalist district and is now shifting its support to the Labour Party.

Does this analysis justify that the Nationalist Party’s legacy is shifting more towards becoming the Socialist Party in Malta and will Gozo continue to trade camps toward the Labour Party in the coming future?