We saw it happen when he failed to read the sign of the times during the recent divorce referendum. And we saw it highlighted even more prominently during the self-inflicted injury the government subjected itself to, through its own covert actions and political bungling over something it had originally set out to keep away from public domain and its own parliamentary group – the totally unacceptable and ill-timed sharp ministerial hike in salaries and allowances.

If there was more to the divorce referendum than divorce per se, since the whole saga was all about whether we wanted to keep on living in a confessional state or else move on to forming part of a truly European secular state, the same can be said for the ministerial salaries’ political and PR disaster.

It all boiled down to how poorly this government regarded transparency, accountability, the need for political sensitivity as well as the importance of good and sound political judgement. Not to mention credibility itself.

Forget for a moment the valid arguments brought forward by our side, both inside Parliament and outside Parliament, without the benefit of any parliamentary privileges.

If this government is to be judged by what its own MPs had to say about this whole saga then we have a clear cut case where in their own words:

• The issue was tackled in an arbitrary and insensitive way;

• The way things were done left a very bad taste in people’s mouths as it reeked of subterfuge;

• People were left thinking that there were efforts being made to hide things not only from the public, but, which is even more worrying, from the Nationalist Party’s own parliamentary group;

• Gonzi consulted his own parliamentarians only as part of a fire fighting exercise, as a last resort and when it had become obvious that matters were or rather had rapidly got out of hand;

• This issue will continue to overshadow the work of this administration up to the next election;

• The PN parliamentary group as a whole by its own admittance felt that it was more in tune with the public than the Cabinet of Ministers;

• The whole issue was flagrantly lacking in transparency;

• Government backbenchers ended up calling on their own members of Government to concede heftier chunks of their raise due to the need for austerity but to no avail;

• Government MPs found out at their own expense that for two years front benchers had received a different honorarium than the other MPs.

All this was more than just a gaffe. It was a political scandal.

Saturday’s vote by the PN side changed nothing of the equation.

While undermining the government’s credibility it also inflicted political harm and damage on the entire political class by changing people’s attitude toward and perception of politicians by beginning and now continuing to look upon them/us as a gang of thieves.

The government’s defence of its own blunders was as flabbergasting as its own previous and original handling of this scandalous saga.

While in Parliament last Friday the otherwise affable Deputy Prime Minister tried to reassure us that after all some €2.5m were saved from the shaved off number of ministries as compared to the past, as well as that the new ministerial salaries would not reflect on ministerial pensions since pensions would continue to be calculated only on the basis of basic salaries, others tried to reassure us that the ministerial pay rise was given by ministers (to themselves) at a time when the economy was doing well!

As many, including your editorialist, concluded last Saturday the motion was pre-destined to be defeated but the decision taken by the government remains ‘mistimed, mishandled, shrouded in secrecy and quite simply, in bad taste given the current state of affairs…’

But of all the opportunistic statements and political juggling and dismal balancing acts from the government side, the real cherry was the excuse that the Prime Minister himself dug up when he dismissed the whole saga lightly as a mere administrative error.

The government has been quoted as having misjudged the public sentiment by the way it reacted and failed to recognise the outcome of the divorce referendum – regardless of its questionable original stand on the issue – as the editorialist of a sister publication of this newspaper also commented: “On a similar note, government seemed to be ignoring the public sentiment, in its mishandling of the issue, which had instilled shock and disbelief in the nation over the overgenerous wages paid to Cabinet Ministers as well as the insensitivity shown in the implementation of this plan, ”

For the PM to dismiss all this as an administrative error in my opinion overshadowed any political fall-out that might have and did result from last Saturday’s motion of censure in the House of Representatives – tabled by an energetic and pro-active Opposition.

What is certain is that through its action the government has definitely added more fuel to the fire of political uncertainty in the country. Even in terms of a government that is more and more perceived as living and thriving on various life support mechanisms. As well as makeshift face savers that convince no one.

When senior and retired politicians start speculating with their peers about the possibility of an early poll, no wonder that diplomats resident in Malta as well as other Malta watchers begin feeling the same vibes too. Even if such a possibility remains very remote for the time being.

The divorce issue might have divided a nation in spite of the relatively and unexpected landslide victory for the ‘Yes’ vote, but in this particular case the nation “has taken umbrage to a government that pays itself the princely sum of €500 per week when costs have been abounding for consumers to the extent that the poverty line is often mentioned as a real concern and the middle class is being wiped out of Malta as they cannot afford the lifestyle and the bills associated with it” – ‘An error above all’, The Malta Business Weekly leader – 9 June.

Rather than solving the problem or reversing its own mistaken decision, last Saturday, government merely attempted in the most contemptuous of manners to try and quell a dismal issue from escalating further.

How many more administrative errors are we expected to put up with?

This question becomes relevant particularly since as the sick joke goes, many cannot fail noting that ‘administrative errors’ are somewhat becoming the norm under this administration. Be it the BWSC saga itself as well as the administrative deficiencies – as exposed through an independent board of inquiry – in the running of the VAT department during the very same days when the VAT fraud scandal peaked. Regardless of whether there was in-house collusion or not.

This government might have arguably had a very few economic successes but ever since it won the elections with the slenderest of majorities, arrogance became the order of the day; putting its ears to the ground was reduced to a mere mantra and hollow cliché while at the same time the emperor that wears no clothes showed one and all that he and his coterie had once again clearly failed in their political responsibilities very, very badly.

A matter that cannot be brushed off lightly. And which in Lino Spiteri’s own words is expected to keep on haunting this government, irrespective of which turning last Saturday’s vote took. With the benefit of hindsight, Lino’s words were nothing short of prophetic.

Meanwhile in the coming days expect the PN to make a desperate bid to regain its lost turf amongst progressive and liberal forces on the island, particularly the younger generation. But deep down they know that it is now too late in the day for them to stand any chance to do so.

If proof was ever needed, this was provided by what I heard about the thinking of ‘PN in-house strategists from sources close to Castille’. That in the coming days, weeks and months given that they have ‘lost’ the youth vote, they will be focusing on children and kids in any public event featuring the Prime Minister. Including the launch of any ‘mega projects’. In the hope of striking a chord with the parents of these as yet ‘non-voters,’ given that they are fully aware that they have alienated so many youths, due to their insularity and confessional approach of the last months.

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www.leobrincat.com

Leo Brincat is the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development & Climate Change