European Union sceptics in Britain must have danced the night away after it was confirmed that the leave camp has secured a result which will end Britain’s EU membership.  It was a night of smiles, hugs and thumbs up.  Evidently they boozed.   But while the partying was going on, the negative effects of leaving the 28-nation Bloc were taking their toll. The Brexit results hammered global stocks and sent the British pound sliding against the dollar.  The economic uncertainties spiked to unprecedented levels.

The leave camp made voters believe that they have, at their fingertips, favourable solutions on immigration, employment, housing, infrastructure and the National Health Service. But within hours from the Brexit result, the leave camp started to retract on its promises.  

Little did they realise that, like any other broken relationship whether in business, marriage or any other bond, the parting off turns nasty and in some instances bitter.  EU sceptics in Britain will soon find that they cannot fulfil their promises, and they cannot put the blame on the EU doorstep anymore.  The EU will find that a higher degree of convincing, better communication with EU citizens and the bringing back of social issues on the EU agenda will pay much higher dividends.           

Nigel Farage, the far right leader of the UK Independence Party has for the past twenty years campaigned for Britain to leave the EU.  Last week’s Brexit referendum showed that he has successfully manged to push Prime Minister David Cameron to make an off-the-cuff promise to the UK electorate.  In an attempt to win the 2015 general election, Prime Minister Cameron promised to offer Britons a simple ‘in/out’ option on whether to stay or leave the EU.  Cameron played in the hands of Farage. 

Immediately after the referendum result was announced, Prime Minister Cameron declared that he will make way for a new leader of the Conservative Party.  On the other end, Farage was quick to claim Britain’s Independence Day.  

But the real benefits promised by the leave camp have to be quantified and seen in the coming months and years.  Prior the referendum, various experts counselled against Britain leaving the EU.   Politicians come and go, but the effects of their decisions remain for a long time and have to be shouldered by Joe the citizen.  But as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.  Britain’s exit from the EU will be an eye opener and crystallise matters to other countries members of the EU.    

In the past weeks, our attention had shifted from our domestic issues to Brexit, giving dust time to settle within the PL.  Two of the contestants for the post of deputy leader carry ministerial duties and responsibilities.  The other served the PL as President for a good number of years, and currently holds the post of Chairman of the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation.     

But can a minister fulfil the role of a Deputy Leader, Party Affairs?

A caveat is appropriate here. Human nature being what it is, the Prime Minister, like any other leader, may prefer to work closely with one but not the others.  The reason or reasons could be many.   Any leader might hide his preferred choice in public, but then uses his influence within the inner circle and let others do the work tactfully with the grassroots.  It is a longer process, but it looks cleaner in a democracy.

The three contestants were not the first choice of the Prime Minister to fill this post.  Dr Konrad Mizzi was, but had to resign within weeks when he was caught in a fix to which the end is not as yet in sight. Minister Mizzi was kicked upstairs by the Prime Minister in an attempt to stop the internal bleeding.  But the matter is far from done and dusted.

What I want to question is whether a minister can, in actual fact, properly address two distinct functions at the same time.  Ministers live in the fast lane to ensure that they keep up with the load of ministerial duties, which invariably includes frequent travel abroad, while servicing their constituency and others.  It is a tight balancing act.  I’m much more in favour of a political party with a beefed structure which is completely separate from government. Ministers are after all mere mortals like everyone else.

An organisation which fails to connect constantly with people is set to end with the short end of the stick. 

 

[email protected]