Government known.

And before midnight there was no doubt that the people wanted a Progressive Labour Party Government.

They wanted a Government that would not take them for granted, but would seek their opinion when major decisions are to be made; a Government sympathetic to them, rather than apathetic; and a Government which would help instil national pride, instead of alienation in their own land.

Has the PLP Government delivered this? Can it? Will it? Only time will tell.

Time seems to remain on the PLP's side. After all, they still have four years remaining in their first governing term. And as many have correctly pointed out, they cannot be expected to improve and solve crises which have developed over three decades in a year.

But that is little solace to a victim of crime due to a shortage of Police, or the parent struggling to keep a roof over his or her family's head; or the prisoner who has served his or her time and desperately needs the services of a halfway house before re-entering the mainstream.

A year can also seem like eternity to those of the status quo who never believed they would live under a PLP Government. Just the idea of a "new Bermuda'' threatens their well being.

As the former Editor of this paper pointed out in this column the day after the PLP's landslide victory: "When the celebrating stops the PLP's big challenge will be to prove that it can manage the complex economy. It will have to prove that it will not drive out international companies, as has so often been predicted, or use taxation to divide the Bermudian people. It is not easy for any party to meet the very high expectations of Bermudians, the high standard of living they often take for granted. If the PLP cannot do that, then it will soon be out of favour with its own voters.'' However, it appears that the honeymoon is not over.

Based on informal polls and letters to this paper, the majority of people -- not just Bermudians -- are satisfied with the new Government thus far.

No doubt they will be anxiously waiting to see what the PLP does in its second year.

But based on the time it has taken the people of Bermuda to replace the governing party and deal with other major issues such as Independence and capital punishment, it is obvious that Bermudians do not rush into or expect swift change -- or maybe they realise the more things change, the more they will remain the same.