“From the first count,” Dr Sant said, “it is evident that the Malta Labour Party has managed to win a majority in the European Parliament election.

“The first count indicates that we won more than 48 per cent of the votes cast, PN received 41 per cent, while AD and independent candidates together managed some 11 per cent.”

Referring to Dr Gonzi’s address, delivered minutes before his, Dr Sant said that three candidates will be elected from the MLP. This was a clear indication, he said, that the MLP had managed to “make a difference” in an unequivocal way, to the extent that it has been accepted by the prime minister.

The message the party had tried to deliver was “reaching the people”, he said, stressing that the party focused on the issues that were at the heart of the man in the street. “We discussed these matters with families, working-class people, the elderly, young people and all those who form part of the Maltese social fabric,” he said.

The people yesterday had given the government a clear message, one that Dr Gonzi should consider seriously and work on. “The time for empty words and unfulfilled promises is over,” he said.

“We could have run a media campaign based entirely on the television and the papers,” he explained. “Instead, we went to speak to the people and we heard their message.

“The government is both inefficient and arrogant”, he added, “a fact that calls for someone who can listen to what people have to say and help build a better future together.”

In this respect, he said, the MLP campaign was a European campaign as well as local one. The EU issue had been resolved with the general election, he said. The party is now looking forward to working with the European Socialists to implement its vision at both the local and European level.

“We have a lot of projects we want to promote in the European Parliament. The MLP representatives will be on the alert to grasp every opportunity for creating employment, while at the same time safeguarding social welfare.”

In conclusion, Dr Sant thanked the Maltese for making the MLP the biggest party in Malta as well as for their support over the past weeks. He also thanked the candidates who, he said, gave their all in the campaign. He said the candidates came from different backgrounds and had different aspirations and had managed to strike a chord with people from all walks of life.

Asked by The Malta Independent to comment on the analysis of the result given by the PN – that the PN suffered from a haemorrhage of votes that had gone to AD while the MLP had basically kept its support from the last general election without gaining much ground – Dr Sant said that the biggest challenge faced by both parties in this election was to encourage people to vote.

The EP election represents a national election in which, as is the case with general elections, parties and candidates compete on national issues and put their track records to the test. “The electorate will consider all these factors”, he said, adding that “their vote reflects their consideration”.

The result reflects the citizens’ judgement, Dr Sant stressed. “Over the past year the Nationalist Party had the challenge of convincing its electorate that it had kept its pre-election promises. The MLP, on the other hand, had to convince the voters who believed in the Party’s vision, and were not comfortable voting in this election, to actually cast their vote. “I met these people, some of whom I didn’t manage to convince”, he said.

TMID also asked him if the result was one he expected. While confirming that the party had an indication that there was a swing in favour of the MLP and against the PN, he said nothing was certain before the votes were cast.

Shortly after the press conference Dr Sant addressed a meeting held just outside the party’s headquarters. The considerable crowd responded with a loud roar to his opening word Grazzi.

Dr Sant echoed points made during his press conference, that the party will now work on implementing its programme locally and on a European level. “This is not the end of a campaign,” he said “but the beginning of the campaign that will lead us to a Labour victory in the next general election.”