After months of stalemate and bloodshed in the west of Libya, it seems that the Gaddafi regime is finally in the process of being disposed of, once and for all.

While there were still pockets of resistance last night, one can imagine that Gaddafi will indeed fight to the very end. One might expect the hard-man to barricade himself in a bunker and go down in a blaze of ‘glory’. He could also try to flee and go into exile; but who would take him?

He might also turn up in a hole, like Saddam Hussein had when he was eventually tracked down in Tikrit, his hometown. But to Gaddafi, Tripoli is the centre of the world. He sees it as the empire he built, and will not want to leave, preferring to fight the ‘rats’ who have liberated a people that have known nothing but oppression and terror for almost half a century.

Whatever the case may be, this is crunch time for Libya. It has become painfully obvious that while Libyans just wanted to see the back of Gaddafi, there has been a very subtle shift. Once the honeymoon period is over, when Libya does capture Muammar Gaddafi and hand him over for trial, there is going to be a power vacuum, especially in Tripolitania.

To put matters into context, Tripolitania in the west and Cyrenaica in the east, were only recently hammered together into one nation. As we have mentioned, the subtle signs are there. Throughout the uprising, the west has relied largely on its own people, although Benghazi did organise a number of evacuations and support missions.

But when it came to actual boots on the ground, the east stalled, largely due to the blazing heat in the desert and the mass expanse of territory which needed to be crossed and was constantly targeted by Gaddafi’s artillery.

Yet it has created a very subtle, but growing division between east and west. The world genuinely hopes that Benghazi’s Mustafa Abdul Jalil can bring all Libyans together, to rebuild a nation, out of the madness which Gaddafi plunged it into.

As we have said, there will be a honeymoon period, but things will take a much different tone when it comes to discussing oil, most of which is in the east of Libya. Of course, France, Italy and the UK will be first on the plane to sign petroleum deals. But what of Malta? The Prime Minister has personally called the TNC leader; but what next? Malta was cautious, but later did embark on a softly-softly campaign to assist the rebels where we could. But was it enough? One would have to say we hope so. It has long been Malta’s worst kept secret. Gaddafi threatened doom if Malta ever tapped into certain places to find oil. Perhaps now, that process will start in earnest. Libya must keep a cool head. This is, by no means all over. This morning will bring with it a new story, but at the time of writing, Gaddafi was still very much entrenched. He will be removed, this much is clear. But how many Libyans will he take with him?

For Libya to survive, there must be unity. In an ‘artificial’ country that has no political system whatsoever, the first pressing need will be to create an atmosphere and spirit of belonging, unity and determination. Getting rid of Gaddafi is the easy part. Now the hard part comes – creating a new Libya from scratch.