The European Parliament elections yielded the result that was expected. Labour Party (PL) candidates won the majority of votes - 55 per cent of the votes cast (48 per cent five years ago) - with those of the Nationalist Party (PN) doing disappointingly bad, winning 40 per cent of the vote (39.8 per cent in 2004).

Alternattiva Demokratika suffered a humiliating defeat, managing to win the support of under three per cent of the electorate (10 per cent in 2004).

The cards are now on the table, face up, for all those who want to see them and read what they say.

The people have deliberated and returned their verdict. Whether one agrees with it or not, it must be respected and accepted, that is, after all, the essence of democracy. But in doing so one needs to be careful how to interpret the results and, more so, what motivated the electorate to do what it did on Saturday. This especially so in the case of the PN and the PL.

The PL may well have emerged the "winner" and the PN the "loser", yet, it ought to be borne in mind that this was an election to choose the Maltese people's representatives in the European Parliament. It was not meant and nobody can interpret it as meaning that 55 per cent of the Maltese people want the PL to be in government and that these same electors prefer Joseph Muscat as Prime Minister rather than Lawrence Gonzi.

It should be clear to all by now, but especially to the two large political parties, that the electorate do use their vote intelligently. Look back at what happened, five-six years ago. The electorate voted for Malta to join the European Union in 2003 and confirmed their decision a few weeks later when they made sure the pro-EU Nationalist Party remained in office. Yet, barely a year later, the same electorate showed the yellow card to the PN at the first EP election. It has done so again this time around, holding the yellow card even higher.

One of the mistakes in this campaign was that both parties behaved as if it were a general election they were facing. Of course, that suited the PL and the result vindicate it. Alas, the PN was only able to react and tag along. That was not the only reason why it did so badly for it is quite evident that a good part of its own supporters wanted to punish it for various reasons, some unjustified but others for perfectly legitimate reasons.

For both parties the real big test remains the general election in four years' time, unless it is called earlier. And the road there is long and winding for them, especially the PN. But that is another matter that can be addressed later.

For the time being, it is imperative that, rather than having one party exercising "supremacy" over the other on the basis of the results achieved, all five Maltese MEPs (and the sixth when/if this arrives) work closely together, through their respective groupings to obtain the best possible conditions for Malta and its people.

Illegal immigration and the prevailing economic situation are two issues that immediately come to mind where concerted action by all five Maltese MEPs is a must. The Maltese people will depend on them and one augurs the MEPs will prove they deserved the electorate's trust.