Particularly at a time when a Eurobarometer survey has just shown that some 46% of the Maltese think that the worst is yet to come, God spare us if contagion really had to hit us hard and squarely in the face

I say so not only in the national interest but also out of genuine fear that the government might be seriously tempted to resort to its by now stock in trade – that of trying to paper over any crisis by soft talking its way through it, sometimes also at the expense of being somewhat economical with the truth.

We have already seen this happen in the past.

When we raised the possibility of a Cypriot contagion infection in Parliament we were dismissed as being alarmist. And yet only last Thursday we saw Fitch cut its long-term foreign and local currency ratings by two notches.

We also saw this happen vis-a-vis Italy, which we sincerely hope will manage to ride the storm. Only a week or two ago our Finance Minister tried to reassure us that if contagion had to hit Italy it would not hurt us that much. And yet as the storm clouds continued to gather and our own stock exchange tumbled, the Maltese Prime Minister felt compelled to admit the obvious: that our economy is interlinked to and is dependent on the economic fortunes and the financial stability of the outside world, particularly the European economy and mainly that of our neighbours close by.

Incidentally the Prime Minister is the very same politician who Sunday week ‘marred’ an otherwise pleasant ceremony marking the opening of a football ground in Għargħur when he remarked in his by now customary tongue-in-cheek manner that we should congratulate ourselves because we were celebrating our own village feasts, arguing about football and petty politics and officially inaugurating synthetic turf soccer pitches while the rest of Europe practically burned.

That is the kind of self-congratulation that not only risks tipping into self-denial but that also tends to breed the worst type of complacency and indifference.

Alas this spin has been going on with the same intensity in the local media as that of the contagion which has been spreading in Europe.

Extensive features were carried in both the official and the PN leaning media leading us to understand that the government actually saved us from crisis so far.

The truth is that while we might have not yet felt the pinch as far as other neighbour countries might have done, we owe it primarily to the banks.

This was admitted by the very same financial experts that the government chose to quote when they told the PN media that the government was lucky in the sense that contrary to other governments it did not have to intervene to bail out banks and that this was mainly due to the prudent manner in which the banks themselves conducted their own business, as well as due to the tight regulation by the MFSA. In fact a particular financial expert told In-Nazzjon, the PN organ, that such justification results from the fact that banks in Malta, mainly thanks to the way in which the MFSA has conducted its business, at no time resorted to lending beyond control as banks did elsewhere. And neither did we have bonds based on properties of virtually inexistent value.

It is on this basis and this basis alone that the recently surveyed Maltese found that they had confidence in the way business was conducted in Malta so far at this delicate moment.

I am worried by all that is happening not only because of the real threats looming close to our shores, but also because while European financial markets are literally burning, our government as well as the governing party itself happen to be experiencing what has been termed by the independent media as a summer of discontent.

It is not for me to revive the Engerer and Galea Curmi cases again within the context of this article. But the main and underlying theme as expressed in the editorial in question is the following: it would be wrong for the top echelons of the PN to bury their heads in the sand and keep telling themselves that all is well. Their stubbornness and blinkered attitude is having a disastrous effect in terms of the options open to the electorate.

Only the blind or the naïve would not realise that Mr Engerer’s attitude is indicative of a widespread sentiment within the PN.

It is also possible, that in the eyes of outsiders, the PN is in such a disastrous situation that anything else would be better.

That feeling is already being expressed by many within and very close to the PN.

It is when the electorate, particularly the floating voter, starts thinking on those same lines that the PN will have reached the point of no return. And we are not too far from that.

Dr Gonzi knows it and all those with eyes to see and ears to listen know it too: there is discontent within the party, which started way before the House even started considering the divorce law.

The shortcomings within the party in power have had their adverse effects on the government itself because it has been continuously failing to keep it on its toes and offer guidance.

Sure, there must be a clear distinction between the government and the party in power but it is the party that will ultimately have to face the electorate. It is the party that makes its electoral pledges.

And yet, both the party and the government have often left a lot to be desired, appeared weak, and lacked strong leadership and a willingness to take the people into their confidence and communicate clearly.

Criticism levelled at them, even by well wishers and like minded quarters, was often rejected as the result of personal agendas if not personal hatred.

Probing and uncomfortable questions by journalists were ignored and those who asked them were at times treated with contempt.

Certain problems, especially of the internal kind, continued to be swept under the carpet or addressed by way of short-term solutions that only served to cause problems in the long run.

Whether all this was meant as a wake up call or not is immaterial to the whole issue.

One cannot ‘divorce’ such words – pardon the pun – from earlier statements made in the independent media accusing:

The PM of having committed hara kiri in his handling of the divorce issue

Gonzi – through government friendly columnists and bloggers – that his actions were tantamount to political suicide

And even encouraging Gonzi to take the route long adopted by neighbour PM Berlusconi to commit himself as of now to step down from the party leadership by 2013 as is likely to happen in Italy.

All this is a far cry from the glory days of par idejn sodi – the famous or infamous strong pair of hands mantra.

Meanwhile government reacted to all this in what has become by now a customary manner whenever it finds itself biting the dust as it often did after various local and European elections.

Only in late July the PM was reported as having come up with the hackneyed solution that his party needs a strong internal reform to get closer to the people. As well as that the PN needs both ministers and members of the party who are closer to the people.

In order to try and come across in a statesman like manner he tried to lead us to believe that reforms may be making the government unpopular but if it did not implement them, it would be committing treason.

Dr Gonzi should smell the coffee and realise that what we are experiencing has nothing to do with the ‘pain’ of reforms but is merely symptomatic of the kind of hubris of a government that has long lost the plot, and continues to grow more and more detached from reality.

I am confident that Dr Gonzi will eventually convert himself into a ‘good listener’. But he will only do so in the run up to the general elections to try and portray himself anew as a listening politician. By then one hopes voters at large will have long realised that they have no more time or patience for such well worn and hackneyed and long tried and tested political games that lead us nowhere.

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