The general election result has resoundingly confirmed the warnings the Nationalist Party had been receiving about the dwindling popularity of its Cabinet, with most of the former ministers and parliamentary secretaries registering significant losses on their 2003 showing.
With the Prime Minister expected to announce his Cabinet today, this analysis will surely have to be taken into account. About 10 of the PN's protagonists in the former Administration suffered a significant decline in their popularity, even if some of the changes in the electoral boundaries may have had an effect on the overall result.
The number would be 11 if former Parliamentary Secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, who lost 1,439 votes over 2003, were to be considered, except that one has to factor in the fact that Lawrence Gonzi contested his district this time round as party leader.
Conversely, Tonio Fenech and Tonio Borg made massive gains, which, however, came from the votes usually taken by former PN leader Eddie Fenech Adami.
Ċensu Galea, who lost his parliamentary seat, tops the list of ministers who saw a dip in popularity with a loss of 1,761 votes, followed closely by Louis Deguara, who lost 1,713 votes over 2003.
Although marginally less than his colleagues, the former Roads and Infrastructure Minister Jesmond Mugliett, who became embroiled in a series of controversies in the past Administration, saw his strong showing of just over 4,000 votes in 2003 drop to 2,484 votes this time round.
There was a clear trend in favour of new candidates. In Gozo, for instance, new PN face Chris Said won a substantial 2,573 first-count votes, while Giovanna Debono lost just under 1,000 votes, down from 6,591 to 5,633.
Similarly, the former Education Minister and PN stalwart since 1977, Louis Galea, surprisingly lost his seat on the fifth district, among others to newcomer Franco Debono who polled 2,065 votes.
With the already highly competitive 10th district overwhelmed by the performance of Robert Arrigo, former Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech only managed to keep his seat thanks to the additional four seats awarded to the PN by the Electoral Commission to ensure a parliamentary majority, as per constitutional amendments. Dr Zammit Dimech also failed to get elected in the ninth district.
The only former minister to see a convincing increase was Dolores Cristina, who upped her votes in the 10th district by 1,106. She also successfully contested the ninth district.
The others who ironically witnessed increases that were not the result of some drastic change in their district but lost their seats were Tony Abela, Helen D'Amato and Michael Frendo. However, Dr Frendo and Mr Abela have a chance of getting elected through a casual election even if the pick will have to include a substantial number of the new faces.
With Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando being excluded by the Prime Minister, the choice may fall on people like Mario de Marco, Mario Galea, Jason Azzopardi, Clyde Puli, Robert Arrigo and David Agius.