This newspaper’s sister publication last Sunday reported about “two trains of thought” within the Nationalist Party with regard to a possible Cabinet reshuffle Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi might be considering following the heavy defeat in the European Parliament election last month.
While some think that the PM should have taken the bull by the horns immediately and reorganised his team now to start facing the uphill struggle towards a possible, not probable, fourth consecutive election win, others believe that now it is too early for a reshuffle and its effectiveness would be lost.
In a radio interview, Dr Gonzi has ruled out a reshuffle now, saying that there are still four years to go till the end of the term. He has however kept his options open for any changes which he deems fit to strengthen his government.
Still, is it really four years that remain between now and the election? The government has been in office for 16 months – technically, it still has nearly four years to go, yes, but Dr Gonzi and his predecessor Eddie Fenech Adami always called an early election. So the timeframe between now and the election could be less than the four years that Dr Gonzi mentioned in the interview.
What is clearly emerging is that Dr Gonzi’s choice to have a smaller Cabinet than the one he had in his first government has proven to be the wrong move – for two reasons.
The first is that he has got too many unhappy backbenchers, some of whom expected to be given a post after working so hard for the party and obtaining a personal success in the last election.
The second is that the portfolios as set up are too large for the minister responsible to cope well with. Some do have parliamentary secretaries to give them a helping hand, but others do not, and this is being felt.
The more people “on board”, so to speak, the more it will be easier for the government to fulfill its mission.
Take small and medium enterprises, for example. In the past Gonzi government, these fell under the responsibility of a parliamentary secretary, Edwin Vassallo. Today, they fall within the Finance, Economy and Investment Ministry – but Tonio Fenech has too much on his plate, especially with the prevailing economic situation, to deal with the individual and sectoral problems being faced by the small businesses.
Mr Fenech has Jason Azzopardi as parliamentary secretary responsible for revenues and land, but he would do with some assistance to help him spread out the workload in a more efficient manner.
A reshuffle is a Prime Minister’s prerogative, and its timing is as important as the changes made. As TMIS reported, a reshuffle now might address the growing difficulties of a government that seems to have lost the plot, but at the same time might be too early to achieve the desired effect of a change in direction. On the other hand, a Cabinet reorganisation in 2010, while being an opportunity to launch what would effectively be the start of the election campaign, might allow too little time for the newcomers to have an impact on the government’s operations.
Dr Gonzi’s statement that he will not be carrying out a reshuffle now means that he is ignoring the pressure being mounted from within the party, particularly from backbenchers who would like to see changes that will enhance their position and hopefully give the party better chances at the next election. He might also be saying so to put off media speculation, and then “surprise” us.
What is sure is that the government needs to be given a boost, the earlier the better. Its popularity has never been so low.