It was the hardest fought election ever, with a mere 1,500 votes separating the two larger parties, as the Nationalists clinched their third victory in a row at the expense of the Malta Labour Party.

As expected, the Nationalist Party’s percentage of votes dropped – by some 2.5 per cent – when compared to the 2003 election, which cemented Malta’s entry into the European Union.

This drop was not countered with a hefty rise from the Malta Labour Party, which garnered 1.3 per cent more votes than those it had obtained five years ago, but this was not enough to swing the balance in its favour. The defeat also led to the resignation of party leader Alfred Sant yesterday morning.

The PN ended up winning with a relative majority of votes – 49.3 against 48.8 per cent – giving it the third consecutive term in office, a first in Maltese political history if one were to exclude Labour’s perverse 1981 victory, which enabled it to govern for 16 years.

With Alternattiva Demokratika and Azzjoni Nazzjonali failing to make an impact, the PN will now lead the country for the next five years, for a staggering total of 25 of 27 years when the current legislature comes to an end.

It was a victory for the PN just as much as it was a personal victory for Lawrence Gonzi, who fought against all the odds. Before the election, his party had been in government for nearly two full decades, and with some of his ministers not performing up to the expectations and being embroiled in unwarranted situations which the opposition took so much advantage of, it seemed unlikely that he would have pulled it off.

He had also been labelled, by the opposition and its friendly media, as being a “serial loser”, having lost all elections contested by the Nationalist Party since he took over as leader, be they for local councils or to elect Malta’s representatives in the European Parliament.

But, in the end, after losing the “battles” he won the “war”, which is what matters most after all. If anything, it was another confirmation that the people think differently when voting in a general election. They like to experiment with the smaller parties in the local polls, but when it comes to the real thing they are not prepared to take risks.

Of course, there were many who chose not to vote or to invalidate the ballot paper, and judging by the results these were mostly disgruntled Nationalist voters. But, again, this form of protest vote was not enough to turn the tables against the PN.

In a way, people preferred not to cast their vote or invalidate it, rather than switch to the MLP or the smaller parties. And this goes a long way to explain that the party in opposition did not manage to convince that much that it could provide an alternative government, while the people have little faith in AD and AN.

All in all, it was a matter of trust in a government, and in Dr Gonzi in particular. Since taking over the leadership of the country four years ago, Dr Gonzi steered it through the early difficult stages of European Union membership into a nation that is thriving, with a growing economy.

It was not an easy task. Some of his ministers did not perform up to the expectations, but the overall result obtained by the government was one that pushed the electorate to give Dr Gonzi a vote of confidence.

The reshuffle that he was asked to make so many times during his tenure of office will now be made. And the way the people voted – with a number of seasoned politicians either not making it to Parliament or struggling to do so – have given Dr Gonzi much food for thought before he announces the new Cabinet of Ministers.