Taking in the election result

Is it really all over? We saw a significant voter turnout, demonstrating how intensely Nationalists and Labourites both believed that the course of our democracy was indeed on the line. Voter participation was more than expected. The candidates framing the stakes in this election were deemed the most important of our lifetimes, if not the history of our country. It is impossible to analyse the returns until they are more complete.

A major election always leads to major change, psychological change that is. The unexpected emotional letdown or explosive reaction after the ballots have been counted can be overwhelming to many who can be set up for crushing amounts of what I call post-election stress syndrome. Essentially, it is a feeling of hopelessness or dread that someone feels after the conclusion of a critical political election. This election has been one of the most stressful in years because of numbing news fatigue and the continual media overexposure of the plethora of questionable policy proposals dished out by the mainstream parties.

The reason is that this election process has been so overwhelming, with days of intensive campaigning, never-ending data to process and confusing choices to make on complex issues, while partisan experts were shouting every half-hour on news/talk stations that we are all doomed if their candidate does not win.

Not to mention the huge challenge of who is trustworthy, since you often do not know who will say something inappropriate on social media and crash their credibility, leaving you feeling very alone to make some major decisions without leaders who lack the strength of character to stand on their convictions instead of popular opinion polls. I suspect that there will be many people who are unprepared for the emotional upheaval they are about to experience now that the election is over.

Everyone will feel some degree of emotional letdown now that the issues have been decided and the acceptance speeches have been given. It all has to do with individuals feeling nervous or anxious about our country’s future. They might be worried about Malta’s overpopulation issues, the fate of hot-button issues like the environment or the corruption plague, or they might be concerned about Malta’s standing on the world stage.

While it would certainly be accurate to say that feeling depressed because of a recently concluded election will not be fatal, it also must be acknowledged that this condition is caused by acute stress or anxiety that can lead to all kinds of health problems.

If a part of what you are feeling is helplessness because the party that you do not support won the election, then you might also feel better if you become politically active yourself. You do not need to run for office but you can get involved with grassroots activism that is associated with the issues about which you feel the most strongly. You can try to sign up voters for the next election, for example. Taking a step back from political news and getting right with yourself might turn out to be what is best for you.

Wherever your party goes next, keep track of how it is shaped by the election aftermath. It could split, grow stronger or remain relatively unchanged.

We’re not Labourites first. We’re not Nationalists first. We are Maltese first

It is time for soul-searching. It is time for deeper listening to each other. We need to make a concerted effort to engage in dialogue with people whose political beliefs are very different from our own.

Post-electoral reflections are necessary to analyse the rights and wrongs of a campaign and prevent mistakes in the future. Parliamentary elections represent the highest expression of democracy for any representative system. As such, their completion demands the analysis and evaluation of the results as well as some form of self-criticism aimed at pointing out any possible mistakes and oversights made by the parties involved.

In the heat of the moment, it is easy to forget what is truly important in life but once the results were in, the party leaders took to the stage to request unity, perspective and perseverance.

Now it’s time for Malta to bind the wounds of division. We have to get together. To all Nationalists and Labourites across this nation, it is time for us to come together as one united people. We’ve been through tough and divisive elections before and we’ve always come out stronger for it.

Everybody is sad when their side loses an election but, the day after, we have to remember that we’re actually all on one team. This is an intramural scrimmage. We’re not Labourites first. We’re not Nationalists first. We are Maltese first. We’re patriots first.

While progress isn’t guaranteed, each of us has the power to choose our path, not just on election day but every day in between. We must all go forward with a presumption of good faith in our fellow citizens because that presumption of good faith is essential to a vibrant and functioning democracy.

It is over and now it is time to move on with whatever politicians and issues the majority of voters selected.

You cannot change the outcome of an election. Malta is a democracy and democracy is not just an election; it is our daily life.

Take comfort, though, in knowing that the creators of our democracy, in their wisdom, agreed that we should only have to go through this process once every five years or so.

Mark Said is a lawyer.