The Malta Labour Party is celebrating its third victory in a row.

After winning the European Parliament and local council elections in one weekend last June, the MLP has followed it up with another win last Saturday.

While the triumph in the EP election was largely due to what has been described as a protest vote – many Nationalists voted for Alternattiva Demokratika’s Arnold Cassola and, as a result, Labour elected three MEPs against the Nationalist Party’s two – the consecutive victories at local council level show a shift in favour of the party led by Alfred Sant.

The result obtained by AD last Saturday was similar to the one it had garnered in the elections in the same localities three years ago. So the five per cent jump the MLP made came mostly from the Nationalist camp, especially considered that the PN support dropped by practically the same amount.

The PN is saying that part of its decline can be attributed to the fact that many Nationalists did not cast their vote. It may be so, but it is also evident that, at local council level, there has been a swing in favour of the MLP.

Of course, local council elections can never be compared with a general election. People often use them to send a message to the government.

Yet, it must be admitted that the number of so-called floating voters has risen sharply over the past years. Whereas, in the past, there were a few thousands who, by changing sides, determined the overall outcome of an election, today there are many more thousands who move from one party to another depending on the circumstances.

However, the MLP must be careful not to over-estimate the result it obtained last Saturday. First of all, it must be remembered that three years ago the party had won the election in these same localities but, a year later, it went on to lose the EU referendum and subsequently the general election.

Again, the scenario in three years’ time will be different from that in 2003, when the European Union issue was at the top of the political agenda. In 2008, there will be no EU issue to which the PN could cling, and this will give the MLP a bigger chance to be elected to government.

On the other hand, there is still a long way to go to the next election. The MLP must therefore work hard to maintain the momentum it has picked up, keeping in mind that the government still has the time to try to reverse the negative trend.

The MLP has constructed its latest wins on being close to the people and speaking about their everyday needs and concerns. If there was an issue that hit the people hard, such as the gas shortage, the eco-tax and the cost of living, the MLP was there to give a voice to the people’s complaints.

While still attacking the government on other national issues which did not affect the people directly, such as the Dar Malta and Mater Dei Hospital issues, the MLP also concentrated on the day-to-day running of families and the difficulties people face. Its presentation of statistics regarding the amount of work carried out by local councils was shot down by the PN, but in the end this strategy did strike a chord among the residents too.

The MLP has also become more media friendly, toning down if not completely eliminating its criticism of the independent press, which in the past had caused it a lot of damage.

As explained earlier, the MLP’s road to winning the next general election is still hard and cumbersome. A day is a long time in politics, let alone three years.

The MLP must take stock of the current situation, realise its strengths and avoid committing mistakes that could lead to the loss of the support it has gained in the last year or two.