The decision to not contest two localities was yet another example of the Nationalist Party thinking they can fool people. You can’t. If you try to trick people, in any way, and the people notice, they will hate you all the more for it.

That decision was and is being perceived as badly as the decision to make Eddie President. Simply none except Nationalist diehards believed nobody else was suitable. People feel it was fixed and people do not like that. It is not that Eddie should not have been or could not make a good job of it. He can and he will.

But people, do not like things to be fixed, they do not like these things. When this happened to the benefit of someone who was almost universally admired in the Nationalist camp, the reaction was very unfavourable. It seems the PN has still not yet understood how the people do not like being fooled.

It’s not just a case of the middle classes feeling disillusioned right now. Incidents like this at Marsa and Zejtun have almost universally been condemned by anyone I have asked.

But the worst is the sour taste it leaves.

Equally, people do not like the PN or anyone else trying to fix an electoral result for them. So what if the Nationalists do badly in these elections? Many people may use these elections to send a message that they are heartily sick of being treated badly by their own party. It is their right to send that signal and the Nationalist Party should not be afraid of it.

What the PN should fear is this kind of game-playing that is alienating almost everybody except the diehards. I have always been honest and open about my opinions. I’m no great fan of the PN. I’m not the kind of woman who blindly would follow any political party or leader. But I think Lawrence Gonzi was a very suitable man to be PM. He is as intelligent, hard working and honest a PM as we can have. But the Lawrence ticket is being grossly disabused by the Nationalist Party.

Just because we have an excellent PM and Labour have a relatively weak leader does not mean we should abuse our own voters in this way! Just because Lawrence Gonzi is our best ticket and Alfred Sant Labour’s our worst ticket (as potential PM) does not mean the PN should just shrug off any criticism.

Right now the Nationalist Party is like a closed metallic bubble of a room being thrown this way and that over very choppy waves. Occasionally they come up with a non-brainwave, like the local election withdrawal of candidates and then go back to their bubble thinking the world has been put right.

It hasn’t.

The Nationalist Party is a very broad church. Yet, right now at least, it all seems to be run and managed by a very small closed clique who are either out of touch because they don’t care or have just not realised what a serious credibility problem they have.

Most people would say the problem is more with the PN than the government right now. Yet, even in government, there are a group of usually 30 something young men, attached to two ministers particularly, who are causing a great deal of harm. These bright sparks think they have the answers to everything because they may have an MBA. They assume the power of ministers. They talk to everyone like they are expendable bits of rubbish. And this to people who are decent, who are hard working and who have, whenever asked, served the party well.

Perhaps there are some ministers who want the PM to fail? Who knows? Either way, our PM must listen to this great wave of discontent. It is actually very hard these days to say something supportive of the PN and the government.

And yet I can understand the government’s frustration. The economy is not in a bad shape. The results from HSBC show many operators are doing well. But the feeling of doom and gloom is everywhere.

This time though its not just being generated by the MLP. Some Nationalist ministers and party officials are generating this themselves. You ring up and wait for someone up there to call you back but they never do. You ask for an appointment and never get one. People who have an exemplary work record are just sent home, on some fictitious pretext of not having passed a probation. All that really happened was you dared to tell some minister’s assistant that he was wrong.

These young Turks in the PN can’t be told they are wrong. They will eliminate you. Yet there are very many of us Nationalists who believe we have to stand up for our principles. We have to say no, even to a minister if necessary, if what the minister wants is not well advised.

And the axe comes down.

We, as in the PN I don’t feel part of anymore, are not behaving well. We are cutting off our noses to spite our faces. We don’t seem to respect each other and all those people who make up the Nationalist vote.

We think we are indispensable to this country just because Alfred Sant was thrown out after a few months.

The PN is very wrong to think that. Right now the PN is very expendable. If it goes on like this, the worry will not just be a local council result. The result will be the PN’s worst result in living memory at the next polls.

People in power in the PN and in government need to take a very big dose of humility and start treating all their constituents as though they need them. They could start by emulating our PM’s attitude.

But so far they are not. They are being disdainful of us. They are becoming paranoid instead of proactive.

Why can’t they just wake up, recognise they have a problem, sweep out some old faces in the PN and get fresh but humble people back in, who are both middle class and not?

The PN is not going to win an election or the sympathy of this people with these aggressive 30 something men who are choking the party to death.

The anger is growing, the resentment is deepening.