The Cabinet reshuffle announced yesterday by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was mostly an attempt to keep the peace, rather than one which was aimed at improving the efficiency of his team. But this peace probably has been short-lived, given the way that Nationalist MP Franco Debono has reacted, and the call for a vote of confidence made by the Labour Party soon afterwards.

The splitting of the home affairs and justice ministry into two portfolios was what Dr Debono has been calling for, but this move did not please the Għaxaq lawyer who still called for the Prime Minister’s resignation. Those who were expecting the uncertainties to continue in spite of the reshuffle were not surprised.

At face value, the changes made were only made to appease Dr Debono who threatened to withdraw his support for the government unless Dr Gonzi gave in to his request. The reshuffle can be interpreted as a sign of weakness on the part of the Prime Minister, who has only a one-seat majority in parliament and Dr Gonzi must have prepared himself for this kind of criticism from within and without for giving in to the whims of the Għaxaq MP.

And this criticism started immediately, by none other than Dr Debono himself, and was quickly followed up by the Labour Party, which is seeing a chance of earning some points because of the instability this situation has created.

Dr Gonzi has had to deal with the unpredictable behaviour of Dr Debono on a number of occasions throughout this term, but it now seems that we are close to the end of the road as nothing can satisfy the MP, who, it must be remembered, holds the position of parliamentary assistant in the OPM.

The Prime Minister’s only small face saver – if it can be called as such – is that he did not give Dr Debono a seat on the Cabinet. Dr Debono has always insisted that what he was doing was not to obtain a ministerial position, but out of principle. Whether this was really the case is another matter. Still, the PM’s decision to keep Dr Debono out of the Cabinet is nothing when compared to what the Għaxaq lawyer pushed him to do and his negative reaction afterwards.

Justice has now been taken over by Chris Said, who has also taken over social affairs from Dolores Cristina and relinquished his responsibility for local councils to Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici, who has also been named Leader of the House instead of Foreign Minister Tonio Borg.

The other appointments – those regarding Mario de Marco and Jason Azzopardi – appear to be legitimate because both former parliamentary secretaries performed well in their role, though Dr de Marco has drawn criticism for the reform of the Mepa. That Dr de Marco was running a vast portfolio made up of the environment and tourism – which in the past were separate ministries in their own right – made his promotion more reasonable; if anything, it was delayed. For his part, Dr Azzopardi is now also responsible for consumer affairs and competition, apart from lands and SMEs.

But it is also right to question whether the three parliamentary secretaries would have been given their new appointment were it not for the hassle that was created over the justice and home affairs ministry. We think not.

There are other issues that can be brought up. The extra three ministers mean that Dr Gonzi’s idea of a small Cabinet – and this mostly to cut costs and have more control – has been thrown out of the window.

Before the last election, Dr Gonzi had also said he wanted to keep Mepa under his wing. Now he has shed this responsibility too.

The decision to withdraw the honoraria increase that the Cabinet decided upon in 2008 is an admission of a guilty conscience – and an attempt to recoup the support that was lost by the surreptitious move that had the Opposition Labour Party winning public support each time the subject was brought up.