While the rest of the country obsessed over the US elections, Parliament took its own momentous decision: it moved the date of next year’s local elections.

With local elections originally scheduled for 7 May 2009 and European elections already locked down for 4 June 2009, the government applied to move the former’s polling date so voters would not face the hassle of having to go to their polling station twice in one month. After all, if voters keep expressing their opinion, they might expect government to listen.