As expected, the campaign preceding the local council election to be held on 11 March is now in full swing.

The three main political parties are holding activities practically every day – sometimes more than one – in those localities where an election is due. The aim is to attract the largest possible support at local level when the voting takes place, although it must be said once again that the importance of the local council elections result is limited when compared to a national poll.

The Nationalist Party and the Malta Labour Party’s approach to these elections is different in some aspects and the same in others. Both consider them as important, but one gets the impression that while the Nationalists seem to be more concerned with national issues, Labour seems to be more concentrated on the local aspect.

Labour have won the last two local council elections and want to build on that to keep the momentum going. For their part, the Nationalists want to get back on track after the electorate’s support fell in the past three polls, including the election for Malta’s members in the European Parliament.

With national elections two years away, the

two parties will want a strong show to boost their confidence.

The MLP continues with its policy of giving ratings to local councils where the vote is to be taken. Labour believes that this kind of strategy is leaving the desired effect, with the Nationalists quickly responding to the ratings given by issuing statements in which they aim to shoot them down.

We have got used to it now. Labour gives high marks to local councils where it has a majority, saying that they fulfilled nearly all of the promises made, while giving low marks to localities where the council has a Nationalist mayor. The Nationalists reply by giving lists of projects carried out in Nationalist-led localities and finding fault with others with a Labour majority.

It is all done to win votes but, as is often the case, the truth lies in between.

Councils function to the best of their abilities if the elected people are pulling the same rope, where cooperation exists among the councillors elected on different tickets and where the interest of the locality goes beyond partisan politics.

There are councils with a Nationalist majority that have done well and others which have done little to improve their residents’ way of life. There are Labour-led councils which deserve praise for their work and others which did not live up to the expectations.

It is, ultimately, up to the residents to decide, no matter what Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi or Opposition Leader Alfred Sant say. It is those who live in the locality who know what has been done in the past three years and whether the local council has been effective or otherwise.

What the political leaders say can help to swing votes one way or the other, but in the end it is the residents that must decide in the best interest of their locality.

The third national party that will be taking part in the local council elections is Alternattiva Demokratika. AD are not represented in all outgoing councils and they will not be contesting all 23 localities.

The Green Party is however banking on what their elected councillors have done in the past three years and, although in some instances their councillor will not be facing the electorate again, AD is strongly suggesting that their presence on a council has helped to make a difference.

Less than three weeks remain for one-third of Maltese voters to be asked to cast their preferences, and we expect that the campaign will get hotter as 11 March approaches. Political parties should however remember that for local councils to succeed, what is needed is collaboration, civic sense and commitment, irrespective of who wins a majority.