Thousands of Nationalist Party supporters thronged to the party headquarters in Blata l-Bajda yesterday to celebrate the victory of one of the most hotly contested general elections this country has seen.
After a tense day on Sunday, with PN secretary general Joe Saliba announcing a slim PN victory at 9.20pm, but which was only accepted by the Malta Labour Party early on Monday morning, it was a day of celebrations for Nationalist supporters.
The PN polled 143,468 first count votes (49.34 per cent), against the Malta Labour Party’s 141,888 votes (48.79 per cent), while Alternattiva Demokratika and Azzjoni Nazzjonali polled a meagre 3,810 (1.31 per cent) and 1,461 (0.5 per cent) votes respectively.
The closeness of the result meant that it took long for the winner to be determined, and it was only at about 3.15am on Monday that MLP deputy leader Michael Falzon, left very much on his own except for party president Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi at the Naxxar counting hall, conceded defeat.
He approached Mr Saliba and shook hands and embraced him, in a scene that signified the MLP’s concession of a defeat, its third in a row.
PN supporters had already been celebrating in the streets and, after a few hours of sleep, resumed their merry-making in the morning.
Supporters originally made the pilgrimage to Valletta yesterday morning, hoping to catch a glimpse of Party leader Lawrence Gonzi at the President’s Palace or Castille, only to be disappointed.
It was initially thought that Dr Gonzi would have been sworn in yesterday morning, but this was postponed first to the afternoon and then till today to enable the Electoral Commission to complete the counting of the votes.
Valletta was literally swamped with blue clad figures and trucks blaring party songs and anthems. They gathered near Castille and just outside the President’s Palace, only to be told that Dr Gonzi would be speaking from the balcony of the PN headquarters at 12.30pm.
If the crowds in Valletta were large, the one at the headquarters was even larger with thousands of people making the pilgrimage to Blata l-Bajda. Party activists, officials, candidates, media.link journalists and others all waved to the crowd as they danced to the tunes of Dan hu l-mument, Nghidu Iva, Flimkien kollox possibli, Kick it, We take a chance and many others.
Chants broke out as party secretary general Joe Saliba emerged and it was hard to tell who was more emotional, the crowd or him. One by one, candidates began emerging and celebrated with the crowd, including Mario de Marco, Beppe Fenech Adami, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, deputy leader Tonio Borg, Tonio Fenech, John Dalli, Jesmond Mugliett and Malta’s permanent representative to Brussels Richard Cachia Caruana.
The atmosphere inside the PN HQ was one of joy and jubilation with tears being shed by many. There was much backslapping and a general mood of celebration and basking in victory.
The biggest cheer came when Dr Gonzi emerged out onto the balcony with his wife Kate, sons David and Paul and daughter Michela. Dr Gonzi invited all those present to share in the victory, saying that the victory was everyone’s.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in the party – the officials, the delegates, the activists, our supporters, our in-house media and everyone who voted for the PN,” said Dr Gonzi.
He also thanked the independent media for projecting the party’s electoral proposals in the run up to the ballot and he also thanked One News for their participation, to which the crowd responded with boos. “No, don’t take that attitude. I told you that together everything is possible and I stick to that, this is one nation,” said Dr Gonzi.
“But I reserve a special thank-you to the youth and the younger generation for their support,” said Dr Gonzi. He also appealed for calm. “Celebrate this victory, why not. But remember to respect the feelings and beliefs of others. Be prudent, be calm, be courteous and most of all, look after yourselves and be careful,” said the Prime Minister. He said that the official PN celebration will take place today at 6.30pm, when a mass meeting will be held on the Floriana granaries.
The celebrations did not end there as cars draped in PN, GonziPN, Malta and EU flags motorcaded around the islands. Open-top trucks also took part in the celebrations, blaring out the traditional anthems and mostly creating traffic jams and hazards, despite numerous appeals by the PN to refrain from doing so. Shops largely remained closed today, and many will probably regret the decision to do so, particularly those establishments that did not open in Valletta.
The Prime Minister will today probably be sworn in at the Palace by President Eddie Fenech Adami. The PM departs to Brussels for an EU summit on Thursday.