Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi seemed rather irritated last Sunday evening when, during a press conference held after the results of the local council elections were announced, this newspaper asked whether he thought that one of the reasons for the PN’s defeat was the perception that the party “is standing on a pedestal” and it is detached from the people.

He was rather forceful in his reply, giving his reasons why he thinks this is not the case. He mentioned the fact that the party had built its previous electoral victories on dialogue and that both as a party and in government, the PN had embarked on a wide consultation process on any project or any idea that it had come up with.

We agree that the level of consultation that the PN – as a party and in government – has introduced was unprecedented in Malta. This is a positive factor and the setting up of local councils has, in itself, widened the discussion process as it has often been the case that local councils were deeply involved in issues that have gripped the country over the past years.

But, on the other hand, one has to admit that this is not enough. The public does not feel that the government has a good understanding of their problems, that it is searching for solutions to the difficulties they are facing.

And the results of the last round of local council elections, as well as the previous two and the election for the European Parliament, clearly show that this is case.

For example, the public is consistently being told that the economy is doing well and that the state of affairs is improving. The people are continuously being told that money is flowing in from the European Union. The people are continuously being told that they are living a better life.

But, at the end of the day, are the people seeing the results that they want to see? Has the 2.5 per cent growth in the gross domestic product in 2005 really been felt by the people? Do the people know what ratings given by Moody’s and Standard & Poor really mean and, more importantly, are they feeling that these factors are affecting they lifestyle? Has Malta’s membership in the European Union really changed the country?

The people worry about the little things in life, and in this respect, the government is not showing enough attention. The Malta Labour Party has realised this and built its campaign for the local council elections, and will probably do so in the months leading to the general election, on these little things. This attention to detail has helped Labour to four successive victories at the polls.

The people worry that at the end of the month they have less money in their pockets because of the increase in the price of fuel and the subsequent rise in the water and electricity surcharge.

The people worry because a visit to the supermarket today costs them much more than it used to a year ago. The people worry because if they need some kind of medicine they will find it is more expensive than it was three or four months ago.

The people worry because they might be working less overtime than they used to in the past, or because their job is threatened.

The government speaks of changes and restructuring.

It says it is carrying out reforms in the best interest of the country. But this, good as it may seem, would not have the desired effect if it is not felt at ground level.

The government also speaks of tough decisions that needed to be taken and that it was not afraid to do so although it knows they are unpopular.

One decision it has to take – as a government but also as a party – is that it should go back to the basic approach of listening to what the people have to say, even on the most trivial of matters. The Labour Party is doing that, and this is one of the reasons why it has won four elections in a row.