The tragedy which has engulfed the Mediterranean has left many people jolted and dumbstruck. After several tragedies on a smaller scale, it took this one to draw the attention of the entire world, particularly Europe, to Malta, Italy and Greece.

Across the local political spectrum there is consensus that we need to put further pressure on Europe to translate words into action. The time for weak commitment is over. A humanitarian crisis is a call to all humanity, not just three states.

Both the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader are networking with their respective European allies to voice our country’s humanitarian concern. They are both working towards a strong naval presence in the Mediterranean to replace the huge efforts Italy made through Mare Nostrum.

Let us hope the international community will take heed so that others will be spared a ghastly death.

You would cry too

What Simon Busuttil did to Joseph Muscat last weekend is simply called upstaging. The man who won the elections lost all the joy and satisfaction simply because the one who lost made more significant inroads because of several smaller victories. Simon Busuttil ruined Joseph Muscat’s party.

Before the elections, the Prime Minister was his usual overconfident self. His numbers, or those shown to him, were telling him a tale which turned out to be far from real. Muscat was sure he would not only win this race. His full intention was to crush Simon Busuttil and make the PN totally insignificant.

I’ve heard Muscat was very upset about the result. Perhaps that is why he made the huge mistake of giving a press conference from Castille. There he was, red in the face, looking huffed and puffed. The backdrop was the one he uses in Castille as Prime Minister. Wrong.

It is not the Prime Minister who won the local council elections but the leader of the Labour Party. I hope the Prime Minister does understand that there is a difference between the two. If he doesn’t know the difference, it is sad – particularly for our democracy. If he does know, then the press conference on Sunday morning was to send a clear message: no matter what the result, I am still Prime Minister.

Two years after becoming Prime Minister, Muscat is feeling the need to remind people who he really is.

Of course the PL campaign was very national, not local. We never saw the candidates, except those who might become general election candidates and those who appeared on Xarabank. The focus was on the members of the Cabinet, the €200 million investment and, of course, Matteo Renzi to inaugurate the interconnector. How local is that?

In the meantime, Simon Busuttil was modestly (and at very low cost for the party) determined to really make a difference. The PN leader is not pompous like Muscat; he has an understated approach. Perhaps now the Prime Minister will realize that being restrained does not make you weak. On the other hand, Muscat’s very own hubris may be his own downfall and that of his party.

Simon Busuttil does not need to come out with a slogan saying he is optimistic, because he honestly is exactly that, optimistic. He believes the PN can make it and he wants all those around him to believe it too. Many thought (or hoped) there would be a sign of change in the results but nobody thought it would be this strong. Others who once had doubts are now coming round.

We all know that the local council election results are not a victory for the PN; however, they made significant changes to the political scenario. There were lessons to be learnt by all. PN needs to work harder, particularly in Gozo.

Of course Joseph Muscat had his good reasons to celebrate, namely a 53% vote in favour of the PL, but his speech in Marsa had an underlying signature tune - “It’s my party and I cry if I want to.” In his shoes, after last Saturday’s result, after all the Labour efforts and money spent, many people would definitely be very, very disappointed.