Whatever the strategies of election campaigners are, that which is most important for most people is how the policy and governance of the elected party in government would affect their daily lives. Therefore, the gauge would be based on what is substantial rather than what is superficial.

The different messages are conveyed in various forms. Two striking contrasting messages were presented via the parties’ Awguri billboards. Moreover, one of the latest PN billboards projects a happy family reflecting the party’s focus on family-friendly communities with all the landscaped open spaces and family-friendly measures. The family has always been the foundation of every healthy and successful society.

Another sharp contrast could be noted in the first TV debate between the two main party leaders. Joseph Muscat’s desire to be Prime Minister at all costs was evident when he spoke as if he is already Prime Minister and looking forward to preside over the Council of the European Union in 2017, the same European Union that he had wholeheartedly campaigned against.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, on the other hand, concluded by stressing the PN policy on work, health and education – his consistent priority substantiated over the last years.

Here, we have seen the statesman who has a clear vision of what needs to be done to ensure a secure future within the European Union and its benefits.

PN deputy leader Simon Busuttil, with all his revitalising enthusiasm based concretely on facts, correctly keeps posing the question: who is qualified to continue leading this country? The party that opposed Malta’s EU membership so strongly or the party that, against all odds, developed Malta into one of the best member states of the EU, with all its advantages for the people?