One of the Malta Labour Party’s frequently-used comments to try to gain political ground as the country approaches the end of the legislature is that the Nationalist government is “old and tired”. It says that ministers have been occupying their post for many years and that it is time for a change of government.
It points fingers at individual ministers, claiming that they have erred in their judgement, failed to carry out their duties properly and were responsible for irregularities that were committed within their ministry.
The MLP is also saying that the prime minister is distancing himself from his ministers, and is being surrounded by up-and-coming politicians in a bid for the PN to portray itself as a fresh-looking party with new people and new ideas.
In the past, the MLP was among those who also called for a reshuffle of Cabinet ministers, a call that is still made these days, perhaps in a different way, now that the election is a few months away and there is no chance that a real reshuffle will be made now.
The question that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is being asked is whether he will retain the same team of ministers if the Nationalist Party will win the coming election. Dr Gonzi’s reply to this was one with a smile – this means that the MLP thinks it will lose the election, he told One News journalist Charlon Gouder, who fielded the question to the PM last Wednesday.
But, of course, Dr Gonzi cannot really answer the question now. First of all, the PN must win the election and he must retain his position as prime minister, and secondly he has to see who of the PN candidates is elected before making up his mind. He cannot decide now because he must base his choices first of all on who of the current ministerial set-up will be elected. The question is too hypothetical for the prime minister to answer, at this stage.
Naturally, the MLP want him to name names. They want him to say who has disappointed him, who did not live up to the expectations, who does not stand a chance of getting a ministerial portfolio because of the scandals the MLP have been talking about for the past months. They want him to say that this or that particular minister will not be given another chance.
They want him to put his cards on the table, revealing as from now what he would do if he were to become prime minister again. But Dr Gonzi has, so far, not fallen into the trap.
If he were to do so, the prime minister would be handing over the election victory to the MLP, apart from throwing the re-election chances of the minister/s he names to the dogs. Because it would be tantamount to admitting that he, as a leader, had failed in maintaining his team under control and had been unable to keep his house in order.
Every football coach defends his players. There might be tough dressing room talk after mistakes are committed, but this is, as much as possible, kept away from the public eye. Likewise, the prime minister will continue to defend his team right till election day.
It will only be afterwards, when the die would have been cast and the public would have made its choices, that the prime minister will be making his decisions on who to retain as minister, whether with the same portfolio or with a different task, and who to promote from the present lower ranks to minister.