I can understand the Prime Minister not showing any dispiritedness in the face of such a loss as that of Saturday at the hands of the voters. Which politician would ever dare admit dejection in such circumstances? That is not what politics are made of.

But I can never understand, or accept, the Prime Minister’s boast that “I am going to win the general election”.

“I”? Why not we? Why not “the party”?

Who does Dr Gonzi think he is? Does he think he is irreplaceable, that there is no one who can do better than he? How could he be so brazen?

And yet he has not won anything as Prime Minister. Where does this effrontery come from? The last success the Nationalist Party registered was the last general election, and that was vitiated because of the EU issue. It was handed to the Nationalist Party by a myopic Labour Party.

That issue is now out of the way. In 1971 the PN did not have the Church’s “mortal sin” support, and it lost. In 1981 and 1987 there was political violence on the streets to help it win majority backing. In 1998, Dom Mintoff was the decisive factor. But now the party has to work hard to beat Labour. The EU issue is out of the way and there is no untoward wind in the PN’s sails.

If Dr Gonzi thinks he himself can provide the necessary impetus for the PN to win, he is wrong and should come down to earth. It is the whole party organisation which has to work hard, not just Lawrence Gonzi. I am sure that Dr Gonzi put in his all for the local elections, but obviously his all was far from enough. It was, indeed, abysmally short.

Dr Gonzi has to have a good team, but does he? Results have shown over and over again that he does not. What is Dr Gonzi going to do about that? He may keep on smiling, but that is not going to win him any election.

J. Falzon

Sliema.