It is not the water and electricity tariffs per se that could cost the Nationalist Party the next election. Anyone in their right mind knows that, protests or no protests, the government cannot be blamed for the rise in the price of oil. If Labour had been in government today, it would have resorted to the same measures; after all, if it raised the rates exorbitantly when the price of oil was $12 per barrel, one wonders what heights would have been reached today under Labour.

It is other, perhaps more basic, matters that are affecting the government’s popularity. They are the little things that the Nationalist Party seems to be ignoring, and yet they are so important. One can speak of reforms and transformations, but for the PN to have a chance of winning its fourth election in a row, it must address issues that are bothering people much more than their electricity bills.

This week, the Gonzi government will celebrate its second anniversary. It was on 8 March 2008 that the people voted, and it was late the next day when it was announced that the PN had won by the slimmest of majorities.

And it is with this slim majority that I would like to start. It will be recalled how many times Dr Gonzi, in the days leading up to the election, spoke about the importance of each and every vote. And many will remember the stories of how difficult it was to persuade a good number of Nationalist supporters to turn up at the polling booth. Some say that it was this final push that ultimately secured victory for the PN.

It was known that the election was going to be a close call. And while the Labour Party could rest assured that all its people would have cast their vote, the PN had a much tougher job convincing each and every one of its supporters to do so.

But not all of them did, which is one of the reasons why the PN won the 2008 election by just 1,500 votes.

Yet it seems that the pre-election difficulty and, at times, despair at the reluctance of Nationalist voters to visit the polling booth was quickly forgotten in the euphoria of a third consecutive term in office.

And so those Nationalists who sweated blood during the election campaign have reason to feel irked that there were people who were rewarded although they did not vote. They rightly ask, for example, why should someone get a €30,000 a year top job with the government despite being out of the country on polling day.

Maybe Dr Gonzi does not know about this, but it will not be difficult for him to find out: the people below him can help.

Secondly, while it must be admitted that gone are the days when people used to resort to ministers to find jobs, at the same time those who still seek some form of assistance from Cabinet members and other government MPs should not have the door closed in their face with a bang.

Politicians are not there to provide jobs for people, but they should not turn away, or dismiss with a wave of the hand, those who turn to them for help. It shows a kind of arrogance of which the PN is often accused, and such behaviour does little to change this image. The irony of it all is that, soon, these same politicians will be knocking on the doors of these same people to ask for their vote.

Thirdly, the government and the PN seem unable to get their message across to the people. This is probably the Nationalists’ biggest flaw, because while it is clear for those in the know that so many things are being planned and implemented, the government and the PN are failing in their attempt to bring them to the attention of the public.

And so we have a situation where all the controversial issues such as the energy rates, the public transport reform and the Valletta project – all of which have more of less cost the government heavily in terms of popularity – grab the attention of the media more than the more positive matters that could be of benefit to the government.

In this respect, while the Nationalist Party media tries to portray the image of a government in full control, at the same time denigrating anything that Labour does – often in an exaggerated way that can please only the diehard supporters – the more positive aspects and the great amount of work that is being carried out by the government receive little attention.

Let’s face it: even the pro-Labour media caters mostly for the party’s diehard supporters, but in this case it is much easier to persuade people who have backed a party that has been in opposition for 23 years, apart from 22 months. And, added to this, it is common knowledge that it is the negative news that has more of an impact on people.

It seems to many that it is the Labour Party that is setting the agenda for what people talk about. The most recent example is the energy issue, which has taken over completely, thereby resulting in a negative feeling that favours the Opposition. The thing is, there are many other positive things that are happening, and yet people talk about just one negative thing: the water and electricity bills that the Labour Party and the General Workers’ Union have prioritised.

It is not the water and electricity tariffs per se that could cost the Nationalist Party the next election. It is the way this, and other negative issues, are being used by Labour and its allies to build public support that could be detrimental.

The government machine appears to be too concerned with only reacting to what Labour says and does. This should continue, but there should also be a better focus on what the government is doing.

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