If the Nationalist Party is unable to judge the anger its stand over hunting has caused among a large swathe of its own supporters, then it is in real trouble indeed. Both the Nationalists and Labour have played down the effect the hunting issue might have had on the outcome of Saturday's local elections. However, while Labour expertly fudged its stand over the matter up to the very end of the election - to the delight of its supporters, the Nationalists took an opposite direction.
What really raised the ire of many Nationalists was the way the party justified its decision to use a derogation under the Birds Directive to allow spring hunting of turtledove and quail.
When it argued it had a mandate to do so as the matter had formed part of the package approved in the 2003 EU referendum, it made it sound as if the majority had also been happy in accepting that part of the deal. Which is, of course, not the case. In fact, most took this as a direct insult to them as in their mind there was absolutely no question as to why they had voted yes in the referendum. The majority wanted to see Malta become part of the European Union and, in the light of the Labour Party's stiff opposition to membership, the last thing most had in mind when they cast their vote in the referendum was the hunting issue.
The Nationalists have now found themselves in a quandary of their own making. They have had no alternative other than to respect their political commitment to the hunters, but in doing so, they have greatly irritated the rest of their supporters who are against hunting. They compounded the problem when they kept saying they did so in accordance with the mandate they had in the referendum.
In the situation that developed, Labour wisely grasped the political advantage, and the hunters, or most of them anyway, appeared all too happy to accept the party's indecisive and vague stand, as shown by the way some openly chanted Viva l-Labour at their demonstration in Valletta last week.
The likelihood is that Labour will now fine tune its political act over the issue to keep its edge over the Nationalists.
There are other issues that have caused great irritation, such as the extension of the development zones. New building projects in densely populated areas that are either still on the drawing board or which have already been given the go-ahead, are also causing a concern. All this, and more, might well explain, at least in part surely, the drop in turnout in Saturday's local elections.
As expected, Labour have taken their win, the fifth in a row, as an indication of the people's wish for a change in administration. They are free to believe so, but they will be wrong to think they have already won the race to the general election. The Nationalists have shown they can deliver, as proved by economic indicators, which show that progress is being made in a number of important economic areas. The Nationalists' biggest disadvantage is that they are now seen to have been in government for far too long.
Labour would appear to have come a long way since 1998, when they were defeated after losing the government in under two years after they were voted in. Even so, there is still a long way to go for them to prove they once again deserve to be given another chance to govern.