In politics, as in love, silence is more beneficial than speech. The discerning electorate takes careful measurement of its circumstances and acts accordingly.

It navigates by the star of its own experience, and reacts little, if at all, to the highfaluting promises of the political machines, or the last-minute entreaties of politicians.

Of course, politicians of all denominations believe that they carry weight, and that their last word is weightier than their record and their past performance. But discerning electors are not carried away all that easily by words. They take stock of their delusions, and of the price they have had to pay for misplacing their trust in past elections. In other words, they learn by sheer experience.

Once bitten, they are twice shy, and are impervious to the gobbledegook that fills the air at election time. In the heat of an electoral campaign, many politicians often overlook this reality. Their delusion makes no difference to the outcome.

Moment of truth

At this point in time, the Maltese electorate is rapidly approaching the moment of truth. It has to assess the performance of the ruling Nationalist government that has been in office for the best part of 20 years.

It promised the earth – from an “Early Spring” that never materialised, to a sound economy “ekonomija fis-sod”. Instead, Malta languishes under the burden of mountainous debt, which is still peaking, unprecedented and punitive tax levels, and the cost of living that is skyrocketing out of control.

The discerning electorate knows that it was deceived, and that it has paid, and is still paying, dearly for misplacing its trust. This is fact – not perception. It mirrors the electoral experience – not political opinion. Moreover, it is an experience that has solidified in the process of ALL the five electoral consultations held in Malta since the last general election.

The electoral scales

More important than the fact that Prime Minister Gonzi has emerged as a serial loser, discerning electors are taking stock of the reality that it is Gonzi's own Nationalist edifice which has caved in and sustained highly visible damage.

Internecine rivalries have spilled into the open. After the decapitation of John Dalli three years ago, he has been reprieved, but has been left to heal his scars in court. Meanwhile, high profile party personalities, like Carmel Cacopardo, Ray Bondin and John Camilleri, abandoned the respective ships. Stories of corruption and arrogance of office, which proliferated in recent years, are still unresolved and continue to pollute the pre-election atmosphere.

All these realities load the electoral scales.

The ranks of the discerning electorate have been reinforced by many other electors who, although less discerning in the past, are equally convinced by the pains they have endured, and are still enduring.

Taken in the mass, the disaffected electorate will not be swayed by goodies offered during the budget speech, or by “visions” set for 2015, and which are removed from the unpalatable present by no less than two legislatures! A party that goes to the polls with the offer of a vision for 2015 suggests, by implication, that it is bankrupt of ideas for the present! This is not the best of testimonials with which to win over discerning electors!

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