Voters in the south continued to snub the Nationalist Party as its share of the vote dropped by three points to 27 per cent in just a year, a detailed analysis of Saturday’s European election reveals.

Despite adopting a critical stance on the location of a gas tanker inside Marsaxlokk Bay – as part of the gas power station project – the PN failed to make any inroads.

In last year’s general election, the PN only managed 30 per cent of the vote in the second, third, fourth and fifth districts, electing just four MPs from the 20 parliamentary seats up for grabs.

Although the districts have always been Labour strongholds, the PN had until last year managed to elect seven MPs, sometimes even eight.

The dismal showing had prompted party leader Simon Busuttil to set up an internal committee to focus on the problems of the south, in one of the first moves of the new leadership.

But it seems electors were unimpressed. An analysis of the European election result by districts shows that the PN slump continued in the south.

The party garnered 21,000 votes from the 77,000 who cast their vote, down from the 28,000 obtained last year.

But if the figures in the south make for some grim reading for PN strategists, other factors may have played a part in the result.

The anti-migration party Imperium Europa led by Norman Lowell scored better than Alternattiva Demokratika in each of the first six districts bar the fourth, where a single vote gave the green party the edge. Imperium scored more than 600 votes in the fifth district, which includes Birżebbuġa, Safi and Kirkop that house closed and open migrant centres.

But beyond the southern region, the MEP election confirmed Labour’s nationwide gains last year, including in traditionally PN-leaning northern districts.

The ultimate prize for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was Gozo, where the party surpassed the PN by almost 1,000 votes.

There is a section of the Maltese population, about 25 per cent, who feel these are second tier elections

In last year’s election, Labour had made significant gains but stopped short of taking the majority.

In Saturday’s vote, the PL took 49.5 per cent as opposed to the Nationalists’ 45.5 per cent.

But while the district analysis gives a snapshot of party strength across the country, it is the 80,000 non-voters who will be of particular interest to party strategists, according to Hermann Schiavone, an expert on the electoral system.

“There is a section of the Maltese population, about 25 per cent, who feel these are second tier elections. They will not elect a government and therefore they are not so enthusiastic about them,” he said.

Mr Schiavone believes it is difficult to ascertain who these people are but is confident the respective parties have the necessary data to zoom in and address the individual problems.

“There could be a protest element, both against the government and against the Opposition... I’m sure the parties will be addressing these people in the coming years,” he said.

An interesting element of the campaign was the lack of focus on European issues, which made it feel like a presidential campaign.

Candidates were also nowhere to be seen with the principle focus being the leaders.

Mr Schiavone said past campaigns were run by the leaders but candidates were always at the fore.

“It was a Labour strategy and the PN had to adapt to it,” he said.

“The Prime Minister was encouraging people to judge him and the Opposition leader, a strategy chosen because the trust rating on its leader was very good.”