There was a time when Nationalist MPs and columnists used to find it very hard to criticise their own party publicly. In the past they used to resort to the same type of restraint even when mixing in social circles.

But things have changed now, particularly since the Nationalist Party has lost the firm grip of Eddie Fenech Adami’s premiership at the expense of Lawrence Gonzi’s weak-kneed administration.

Nowadays, when I attend social activities, I invariably find myself approached by die-hard National-ists who give vent to their sense of political frustration and exasperation, particularly at the way the country seems to be suspended in animation, in a quasi permanent state of limbo as a result of the ensuing inactivity.

Over the last two weeks there have been two significant contributions to the local press that showed all is not well within PN ranks.

The first one to let off steam was regular columnist and former PN candidate Marisa Micallef. In an article in The Malta Independent on Sunday entitled Why Spaghetti Breaks Into Many Pieces (21 August) she remarked that more worryingly right now is that the PN is like a handful of spaghetti about to be thrown into boiling water, adding that when the time comes to vote, the fragmentation could be worse than we think.

Hardly a fortnight passed since former Finance and Foreign Affairs Minister John Dalli delivered a blistering attack in his regular column in The Sunday Times which he aptly chose to entitle Despondency. Although he also included the opposition in his firing line, those who like reading between the lines could easily tell that his main target was the Nationalist government of the day.

He began by asking himself why there is such a feeling of grave despondency in the air?

He even argued that some people are feeling that this country has stopped functioning and that there is not the excitement of new activity. He claimed that there is not the challenge of new targets as there is not the comfort of a supportive infrastructure. Even more damning was his conclusion that there is not the reassurance of a clear direction.

Apart from his criticism of the opposition, he attributed this state of affairs to three main reasons:

• a sharp squeeze on the nation’s cash flow;

• the absence of economic creativity;

• the ever-increasing burden of bureaucracy.

Ex-Minister Dalli even criticised the way we were approaching our relations with the EU. While admitting that the government’s budget deficit was always an important element in all policy decisions that were taken, he made two important statements.

Primarily, that it is becoming very obvious that the government’s budget deficit has become an obsession as well as that EU pressures seem to have driven our financial managers to condition all decisions to the financial accounts of government.

Dalli’s main criticism is that this government seems to be divorced from the real world, particularly since its political attitude does not seem to be one of constant vigilance and of flexibility.

Ex-Minister Dalli called on the government to respond to the changing scenarios in a creative way that addresses the new issues and new requirements, while at the same time remaining within the targets that one would have set for oneself.

Regarding government’s oil-pricing policy, Dalli hinted that increasing oil prices will not only fuel price hikes in many of our products and services, but will also reduce the money in the hands of our population that is used for other spending.

No wonder he claimed that this is a double-sided squeeze on trade and manufacturing.

While Prime Minister Gonzi and Competitiveness Minister Galea tend to claim that we are being successful in cutting down on our bureaucracy, ex-Minister Dalli seems to beg to differ. He stated that our bureaucracy is not helping to give comfort to the investor and to the economic operators in this country.

Not only does he feel the negativism that one faces within the plethora of regulatory bodies – most of them totally uncoordinated – but he feels that it seems this country is perfectly organised for turning business away – adding that in this we are succeeding perfectly.

His remark that the opposition is stale and reeks of opportunism seem to have been thrown in to add a semblance of balance to his onslaught on the government’s key policies and strategies on the fiscal and economic front.

The German general election

It seems to be a foregone conclusion that the CDU will emerge as the strongest party during the general election in Germany on 18 September. What is still not yet clear is whether it will team up with the more business-oriented FDP (liberals) or whether it will strike a grand coalition with the incumbent Social Democrats (SPD).

As an EU member state, not only are we interested in the shape that our bilateral relations will take in the coming years but also in whether Germany will be able to restore its position as one of the EU’s natural leaders.

Equally interesting will be the way ahead for transatlantic relations, which are expected to become warmer under a CDU-led administration as well as German links with France, Russia and China, which have always had a strategic texture. Something tells me that a new strategic alliance will also emerge with the UK, should the Christian Democrats win.

A sort of repeat of the Blair-Aznar relationship.

e-mail: [email protected]

Leo Brincat is the main opposition spokesman for Foreign Affairs and IT