Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this evening that he viewed the result of the European Parliament elections as "worse than we wished for but better than expected."
Speaking at a press conference, Dr Gonzi said he acknowledged that the election was an opportunity for different sectors of society to express a protest vote against the government by not voting.
The PN, he said, was in government at a difficult time when difficult decisions had to be taken in the interest of the country, not the party. He knew that such decisions had badly affected some people.
Factors such as immigration had weighed heavily on the voters' minds, he said. The people, however, also did not wish this to become a political football.
Jobs were another important issue. The country was being buffeted by the international economic crisis. The PN itself had put jobs as a major plank of its electoral campaign and had promised that the government would continue to safeguard jobs, and encourage job creation. This sector included the concerns of public transport workers, but here too, the government had to seek the nation interest, which in this case meant a better service to the people, while considering the interests of the people.
Another issue was the utility rates. He was shouldering his political responsibilities because it was his duty to safeguard the national interest, whatever the political price. This too was related to safeguarding jobs.
Dr Gonzi said the electoral result was better than expected given the context of the current economic environment. Indeed, the electoral campaign was difficult for all EU governments, as the electoral results elsewhere showed.
At one time, Dr Gonzi said, the PN feared that even its second seat could be in jeopardy, although it now appeared to be safe.
In the poll the PN got practically the same percentage of the vote as in 2004, despite a bigger number of voters. The PL saw its percentage share rise to about 56% and it appeared that AD had substantially lost its share.
At one time, Dr Gonzi said, it as also feared that turnout would drop to some 75 percent and the PN had seen its own vote projections at 35 percent, but then it achieved 40 percent, which also reflected a response to the messages of the campaign.
One needed to understand the sentiment of the voters and move on, Dr Gonzi said. The country should now unite to tackle its challenges according to the national priorities.
One should remove doubts planted in the election. Health, for example, would be free. But the priority needed to be jobs, modernisation, improving the business climate for SMEs, improving the environment including alternative sources of energy.
Malta now needed to start a new chapter. The government had a five-year mandate of which a year was past. In the coming four years the PN was determined to realise its electoral promises for the benefit of the people.
Dr Gonzi said that while turnout was down 3 percent, he welcomed the fact that it was among the highest in the EU. All of Malta should be proud of this.
Dr Gonzi said that once the MEPs were know, he would invite them all to Castille so that, as was done five years ago, they could discuss how they would work together in the various European Parliament committees.
Replying to questions, the Prime Minister said the government would remain sensitive to the people's concerns. "The people's verdict has to be respected and the people's concerns need to be eased through solutions, not by ignoring the problems," Dr Gonzi said.
Asked what the government would do differently, Dr Gonzi said the PN needed to be closer to the people. The experience of the ministers and MPs calling at people's homes had been useful and he would seek ways how this experience could be kept up throughout the legislature.
Asked whether he would reshuffle the Cabinet, Dr Gonzi said this was his prerogative as Prime Minister and he would act according to the national interest.
"If I feel that is in the national interest, I will take that decision, if not, I will not."
Ask if he felt he was in office, but not in power, Dr Gonzi said he felt in full control of the situation. It was a difficult situation, he said, especially of the world crisis, but he took courage from the country's capabilities. The PN had suffered several electoral defeats in the local councils as well, but then the people chose the PN to run the country according to its electoral programme. The PN, he said would keep its promises while tackling the country's problems. The current situation meant some promises could not be implemented immediately, but they would be once the situation improved.
He was therefore in office, and in power, Dr Gonzi said.