Lino Spiteri’s Talking Point, Opportunity For PN And Malta, is, as usual, intelligent, inspired and food for thought.

The Labour Party passed through similar difficult periods – though perhaps not after such a great electoral loss – but it managed to rebuild and rehabilitate itself into a great new democratic movement, thanks mostly to Joseph Muscat’s revolutionary new approach to politics. His positive, pacifying declarations worked excellently with the voters.

So must the Nationalist Party change into a new, strong party, movement or whatever, which requires a young energetic leader to be elected and to lead with a good team of administrators. It may take more than five years if Labour fulfils its promises and satisfies the electorate but rarely does a party remain in power for more than two legislatures.

As Spiteri said, we need a strong Opposition as much as we need a good government and democracy is all the stronger for it. Constructive criticism keeps the Government on its toes so that it can fine-tune its policies and projects if something is going awry.

So while we hope that the new Government will create jobs, keep the economy and its finances balanced and administer in justice and peace of mind, one also expects that the new Opposition will rise to the occasion, do its job impeccably and prepare itself to be the alternative government.