The temptation to 'teach' the government a lesson was too great for some people in the European Parliament election.

In the current political system there is no other way to show dissatisfaction with the government's performance in a concrete way.

The government may be correct in claiming that it needed to make difficult decisions. The problem is that the implementation of some of these decisions was completely wrong.

The government now admits that the question of higher energy tariffs could have been handled better. After all, the Labour government had committed the same error 11 years ago. An intelligent political party should learn from others' mistakes.

The extreme right has gained support in a number of European countries in these elections. It is useless for the government to label parties and candidates as 'populist,' if it does not have the means to influence the perception of the people in a different direction. To disarm such perceptions, it has to provide alternative solutions with which the electorate can associate itself.

Is it not ironic, if not tragic, for an extreme right candidate without a political party machinery behind him to poll more votes than a more moderate PN candidate campaigning on the issue of illegal migration?

The Labour Party does not have any positive track record on EU issues, with the exception of its MEPs, including the current leader.

But what Joseph Muscat has not explained to us yet is his position on the 'withdrawal' clause of the Lisbon Treaty. Alfred Sant had participated in person in the discussions on the 'withdrawal' clause of the earlier Reform/Constitution Treaty. Can Dr Muscat tell us where he stands on this particular issue?

If we are to take the full benefit of our meagre representation at the European Parliament, we need to make full use of the EP office in Valletta, and create a 'shadow' institution - either nationally or within the parties - to monitor what is on the agenda of the assembly, and to provide our representatives with the necessary support and data to make their presence felt.

And if this result reminds the government about past experiences, this electoral defeat might be a blessing in disguise.