To go by the reactions on the social media, it would seem everybody won in last week's general election.

Labour supporters were out celebrating but those courageous, or insane enough, who expressed doubt had to suffer for daring to doubt.

Numbers are numbers and since the election is declared as having been won by the party which had attracted the higher number of voters, Labour was declared as having won.

But in this election the Leader of the Opposition polled more votes than the Prime Minister who won the election.

PN increased their votes in every district but Labour decreased its votes in 10 districts. 

But some within PN hurried to declare that since the party had reduced the gap from 40,000 to 18,000 this was as good as a win especially considering the new leader had only a few months to prepare.

In Gozo after a couple of terms under a Labour majority, PN got 166 votes more than Labour and promptly declared victory not pausing to consider the votes for the small parties and the other fact that notwithstanding all these votes PN still would not have won the third seat were it not for the compensatory mechanism. 

So everybody won. Everybody is happy. Logic gets thrown out of the window.

I am sure no party on earth would go for an election with the declared aim of losing by 20,000 and call that a win.

There weren't any PN carcades on the streets but on the social media hate mail from all sides was rampant. It's amazing what goes on when everyone was self-congratulating about an orderly and calm campaign.

Don't run away with the idea that all was quiet on the Labour side. On the contrary there was a capillary check and control of most voters considered as Labour supporters. In my view the Labour voter-control system was more comprehensive than that on the PN side.

In fact people on the PN side were complaining they had not been contacted by the party and by the candidates who seemed to think disseminating their speeches and inviting people to parties was enough.

Still, PN could be said to have slowed the decline but it is still in a bad way while as for Labour it is in decline too.

I still say PN is mistaken to think people have forgotten its past misdeeds, if not the mortal sin of the 1960s and the transfers of the PN years, also the arrogance of the Gonzi years. Whatever the slick apologies that are made, nobody believes them.

On the other hand PN is now loudly complaining about people given government jobs, Planning Authority permits, maritime or buoy permits just before polling day. So far these are only generic not substantiated protests but when you ask what has been done you are informed there is just a three day window for registering complaints, which is already gone.

Had this been Eddie we would already have been having protests and/or mass meetings.

Other issues enlivened the campaign, especially the issue of a second mosque which was temporarily shelved while that for a second synagogue seemed destined to be approved, notwithstanding no provision will be made for parking facilities (no need: Jews do not drive on the Sabbath).

And minister Ian Borg helpfully decided to renounce his seat in his home district, thus making it impossible for the Muslim candidate to be elected.

We now find out we will no longer see the homely face of Anglu Farrugia presiding over the somnolent Parliament and his place taken over by Carmelo Abela in the worst week for him because of the preparation for Santa Katerina he is usually very involved in.

When early on Monday the fireworks factory at the top of the hill here exploded my first thought was that it was a fireworks explosion. Only later came the realization that in any other country in the Mediterranean or the Middle East it would have been the sound of war. We are luckier than we think.

And so it goes on. And on.

[email protected]