Last Wednesday’s parliamentary sitting did not take place after the opposition called a quorum and there weren’t enough MPs in the House for the sitting to continue. It was not the first time it happened and neither will it be the last.

Naturally, the two sides of the House later blamed each other for what happened. The Malta Labour Party said it resorted to the move after what it described as arrogance on the part of the government during question time. The Nationalist Party said the MLP had chosen to call a quorum because it lacked solid arguments on the Euro Adoption Bill, which was due to be discussed during the sitting.

The two major parties have been at each other’s throat for the past weeks, and this has not happened only in Parliament. Lately, we have witnessed a spate of attacks and counter-attacks about the way the media run by the same parties is behaving. The two sides have issued a number of press releases about the matter.

What the two parties do not seem to realise is that the people are not in tune with the respective line each is taking. They are fed up of the antics both parties are resorting to in a bid to win more votes. The truth is that by doing so, the chances are that they will lose the people’s confidence, not gain it, and third parties stand to benefit.

This is because Malta has changed, the people have changed, and it seems that the political parties have not noticed. They continue to behave as if Malta is divided in half, with one side supporting the Nationalist Party whatever it does and the other half backing the Malta Labour Party whatever it does too.

The situation is not like this anymore. The number of diehard supporters at each end has gradually diminished to such an extent that the number of floating voters forms probably the largest group on the islands. The people have matured and have learnt to think with their own mind, and not believe all that is said by politicians and the parties they represent.

While this has happened, the parties continue to appeal to their restricted number of diehard supporters, without realising that their behaviour is not well-received by a larger group of disgruntled people who are carrying no flags and yet will be there when election day comes up.

Some will decide not to vote anyway, but there are many others who will still pick and choose. Of these, there will be voters who cast their preference for Alternattiva Demokratika, while the rest will be divided between the two major parties. These are the people who will tip the balance one way or the other, but both the PN and the MLP do not seem to give them any consideration.

And this is where the two political parties are wrong. Both the PN and the MLP ought to realise that their behaviour is pushing people away from them. Both ought to understand that preaching to the converted will not get them anywhere, because these people will still vote for them anyway. Both ought to shift their focus on the so-called undecided, the floating voters, those who will make or break them.

As things stand now, this is not happening. The two parties are locked in a frontal attack from which neither is gaining support.

This is all happening two years before an election is held. If all this is taking place now, one wonders what will ensue in the coming months as the election draws nearer.

But there is still time for the parties to change their attitude and learn to accept that we are not living in the 1960s or 1980s.

The people have moved on. It is time that the political parties do likewise.