The difference of 150 votes is not a real picture as it includes the votes of Sliema which shoud not be counted.

I believe that many PN supporters will rarely vote for Labour, but will abstain unless the hurts they are feeling (and love him or hate him, Franco was spot on with his criticism) are addressed, and not superficially.

Gonzi has started to try to address this situation by giving Simon Busuttil this special role, in itself an admission that Debono was right (I persoanlly think that they should have given this role to Debono).

However we all know that bejn kliem u fatti hemm bahar jikumbatti. Personally, the hardships we have been put through, and I know so many who have been there too, are probably unfixable now.

[Daphne – This business of ‘wegghat’ and ‘hurt’ fascinates me. Yesterday I tried to work out what could possibly constitute pain caused by a ‘partit’. I was at a loss. Most of our so-called hardships are just life, plain and simple. Life. I’m guessing that many of us never fully came to grips with the harsh reality of adult life in the real world. Try looking after a severely disabled child, or fighting a cancerous tumour. Or losing your job and having your home repossessed. That’s hardship.]

Apparently Mark-Anthony is her favourite. Mark-Anthony this. Mark-Anthony that. He makes me sick.

I was first.

Hey Martin, join the queue.

The problem with your reasoning, Daphne, (however sound it may be) is that hordes have been telling Franco for a long time now how big a jerk he really is, but he only hears what a handful around him want him to hear – that he is intelligent – a hero and capable of setting the NP straight.

It is very difficult to get a person like Franco to get back to the real world.

If only the media had some wee bit higher standards, Franco & Co would not even be a blip on their monitors.

Now obviously this still means that the MLP has won and that if this happens in a general election MLP will be in government, but it is quite telling.

I cannot really understand what is happening but my take is that these are really protest votes plus some apathy.

In an older post you (Daphne) said that low turn-out meant many people could not be bothered but in that case there would have been reductions on both sides not just one.

[Daphne – No, it doesn’t follow. Labour supporters are driven by years of opposition to go out and vote. PN voters are not. Also, ABC1 PN supporters tend to be uninterested in local councils and not to feel that level of competitive pressure to vote. Speaking for myself, and I am quite typical, I must have a reason to vote, and ‘PN getting more votes overall than Labour’ is not sufficient motivation. With a general election, the motivation is the government at the end of it all. There is no such motivation with local councils.]

One thing is clear. Labour might win the next election because Nationalist voters stay at home rather than because the same people vote for Labour. It is important that we highlight the fact that if you are a PN voter (or did so in the past) and you do not vote you are basically voting Labour.

If you don’t like PN then vote labour – sitting on the fence means you let others decide for you and then it is useless complaining. At the end of the day it’s not the number of votes that counts but whether or not you have a majority.

They are a disgrace not just to the PN and politics in general but to all Maltese citizines of good faith.