That political parties on opposing sides are always at each other’s throats is to be expected, especially in a country that is practically divided into two almost equal parts. The other parties, in spite of all their efforts, have remained too small, and their impact on the local political scene has been negligible.

And, the more an election is approaching, the more the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party follow each other, waiting to pounce on any mistake, any phrase, any idea that could put the opponent in bad light. This is more so when such mistakes or poor ideas are made by the party leader. In a way, the PN and PL are more careful in shooting down their opponents, rather than putting forward their own policies.

It happened last year when the country was geared up to the general election, and it is happening again this year as we approach the European Parliament and local council elections, to be held on 6 June.

Both the PN and PL are increasing the political dose, and we expect more in the weeks to come. The number of activities has increased, the Sunday sermons are becoming longer and the dishing out of statements has become the order of the day, if not of the hour.

What is ridiculous is that both parties seem to believe that they have to reply to everything that is said by the other side. If Lawrence Gonzi says something, a few hours later we get a PL statement saying that the prime minister has lost control; if Joseph Muscat says something, then it is the PN’s turn to issue a statement saying that the opposition leader has no vision for the future.

It has become so annoying, especially because these statements carry nothing which is newsworthy, and most are repetitions of previous statements, said in a different way. At least, the parties are careful to avoid the cut and paste mentality, although it must be said that certain phrases and sentences are more or less the same as those in previous statements.

The thing is, very often such statements are issued just for the sake of issuing a statement, not because there is something to say. It seems that the parties have chosen this line of thinking – that they should answer the other party leader whatever he says and irrespective of whether there is something to say in reply. Sometimes, it is better to just ignore things.

Very often, these statements are only carried in the media supporting the respective party. The independent media usually disregards these replies, or simply reduces them to one paragraph or two – unless, of course, there is something newsworthy to report. But this happens very rarely, as most of what is usually said in these statements is a repetition of what had been said previously.

There is one matter that political parties seem to be unaware of or, if they are aware, choose to ignore. This is that today fewer and fewer people are interested in the day-to-day bickering between the parties, sometimes over trivial matters. Yes, most people still go to vote, and Malta still has one of the highest turnouts in all types of elections, but people are not into politics just as much as they were some time ago.

The country has moved on from the times when politics dominated our lifestyle. It is only the diehard supporters who follow each and every move but then, in this case, it is like preaching to the converted, because these people will believe what the party tells them, whatever that is.

People – not the diehard supporters – are not as gullible as they were in the past. They are capable of seeing through what politicians try to feed them.