The fourth local elections under the present administration have come but not gone. They leave a sense of satisfaction in all those of various political opinions who felt the need to yell "We have had enough!" - thus giving the thumbs down to the PM's joyful repetition of "You are living better".
On the other hand, they leave a sense of anguish in those who have promised to listen to the people and ignored them, to those who declared they loved the environment and allowed it to be grabbed away from our children's lungs, to those who spoke and behaved arrogantly with the people, to those who felt emotional about a small group of friends of friends and ignored the needs of the vast majority.
The party in government's continuous call to "Consider what we do, not what we say" has indeed been taken seriously. Both at national and local levels, people are unhappy at what's being done. Success percentages of leftist local councils are no longer being ridiculed. Now that the voters have taken them into consideration, it seems as if they were true and credible!
Where does this fifth local/MEP election leave the Prime Minister? It is true that local elections do not have the same importance as national ones. It is also true, however, that they are not totally unrelated. Obviously, Lawrence Gonzi would have liked to do much better and would definitely have shown his usual euphoric contentment at it. But the catastrophic results are there for everyone to see. It is very painful to be slapped in the face in regions usually swearing support.
Nationalist MP John Dalli, writing on the sad morrow of the latest local elections made it clear that "There could be something wrong in the way the party managers are making their assessments of the people and their moods". He adds that "If... there is a swing to Labour, then we should be really worried and we must be very vociferous in demanding a programme of action and reform..." I sincerely believe that this reform must include a long-awaited Cabinet reshuffle - at least.
For Dr Gonzi, this is a particularly difficult time. With four local elections and the MEP election lost by the PN under his leadership, he has now become a serial loser commanding globally in all localities less than 40 per cent political respect for his policies. As things stand, the PN under Dr Gonzi's leadership will continue to slide and will definitely suffer a serious defeat in the coming national elections. It is perhaps time for the PN to think about a change of leadership before it becomes too, er, painfully late. His responsibility is there in the anguish the PN is feeling now.
Mayor and saint
A mayor before the local council elections had everything made easy for him when the discovery of fresh water in the village was about to transform the area into a wonderful oasis thriving in agriculture, horticulture and all types of produce. Indeed, someone had reported to the mayor that a new source of fresh water arriving under the village from the hills of Zebbug, Gozo would make his locality a wealthy community.
People started claiming that the mayor should be the second saint of the Maltese islands as he had succeeded in doing what only Moses had done before him - strike gushing water out of dry rock. In a matter of hours, the area was surrounded by a pretty wall made out of small decorative rocks while the farmers started queuing with buckets, pipes and plastic bags to take the miraculous water to their dry, infertile soil.
Surely this water would bring forth the best turnips - if not the best manna ever to fall from heaven and then come out of the ground.
Celebrations were prepared to feast this holy event that was unexplained by dumbfounded hydrologists. A quick petition was prepared for examination by Vatican experts who would surely set the ball rolling for the nomination of a second Maltese saint. Hardly had the bands and fireworks poles settled in the village square, when some wet blanket declared that this miraculous water was only the result of a broken underground water pipe. Euphoria turned to swearing and never mind the second saint.
This great gaffe was only the result of naïveté. For it is nowadays known worldwide that, to seriously check if there is water underground without jumping the gun, all you have to do is find a Y-shaped twig abandoned by developers and walk around with it, holding it horizontally with both hands in front of your tummy. If the least suspicion of water is underneath, your horizontal twig will start vibrating and you may proceed to digging and exploiting this rich, rare resource.
This must have been the straw that broke the camel's back in the latest issue of local elections. For, when the farce has settled down, the reality of disaster looms over the horizon.
No fines in March
In some towns and villages where local elections were held, a very desirable experiment in social education was organised. Wardens delivered instruction in the civil behaviour of drivers. As we like to say, a good word manages to convince the mouse to come out of the hole. Not that bad drivers are mice, mind you. Wild boars maybe... but how can you make a wild boar come out of a hole with nice words? Not easy, but the experiment was, in my opinion, quite successful and should be carried out regularly. Indeed, even a wild boar may shed some of its savage habits if one persists enough in educating it. The only problematic animal is the donkey and we say that it's useless to wash its head.
Instead of praising this initiative, some people said that this gentle "wardenage" (if I am allowed to coin a word) could have been related to a desire for better local election results for the ruling regime. The results prove the cynics wrong.
St Simeon Stylites
This Christian ascetic achieved fame by sitting on a small platform for many years on top of a pillar and bellowing that, if necessary, he would stay there for 30 years. During a period of his life, he took to standing continually upright so long as his limbs could sustain him. He called it "a solid governance" of his body. This led him to adopt a new way of life, a sort of new way of doing politics. No less than three bishops begged him in torrential rain to come down from his pillar and allow himself to be attended to by physicians. He refused, as he was determined to become a typical martyr of his ungrateful nation.
Maltese films
It is very good news that locally-produced films are having a great success with the public and filling our cinemas. I suppose that those sports fans who adore all that's foreign will boycott these films as they think that foreign means superior. One day they will emancipate themselves and become patriotic. But it takes time and education.
Magic of the west
The tiny village of Gharb taught many august cities of the mainland a lesson in cultural patriotism. By naming its festival Seher il-Punent (magic of the west) - compared to the brilliant lovers of Maltese culture who created the horribly jarring names Notte Bianca and Notte Magica - Gharb earned top marks for cultural pride.
Dr Licari teaches psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and geolinguistics at the Department of French of the University of Malta.