There can be no doubt that we are living a grave political crisis similar to the one of 1998. Although it still has to be seen whether this one will also cut this administration’s life short, it has plunged the country into great uncertainty and instability.

This legislature has been characterised, on countless occasions, by a relentless challenge to the Prime Minister’s authority brought about by a restless Nationalist backbench, overtly unhappy with how it has been treated by the Prime Minister himself and by the way he has managed policies and strategies.

When dissent is expressed outside the internal walls of any political party it is a sign that the respect towards the authority of the Whip and the Prime Minister has started to diminish. The country hasn’t been thrown overnight into the instability it is currently experiencing because of the whims of an isolated MP, but the crisis started to slowly and steadily unfold shortly after the Nationalist Party won victory from the jaws of defeat in 2008.

A fistful of nationalist MPs have from time to time rocked the boat with public outbursts of revulsion towards the cabinet and individual ministers, going as far as to defy their whip and to either abstain or vote with the Opposition in Parliament. The writing was on the wall a long time ago. Things have now come to a head.

While previously the government was still in a position to function and somehow limp ahead despite a defective parliamentary majority, albeit at the expense of much its own credibility, the crisis has now reached a stage where it is very doubtful that it can move forward much further. With one Nationalist MP determined to use his vote against the authority of the Prime Minister, governability has now been cast into manifest doubt.

A government cannot survive if it is defeated on a vote of confidence. But even if the Prime Minister resists putting his parliamentary majority to the test he will only procrastinate the inevitable as he will nonetheless be unable to pass ordinary legislation serenely, let alone money bills, if Dr Franco Debono continues to stand his ground against the Prime Minister and starts voting against government bills, in the process checkmating the Speaker’s casting vote.

There can be no doubt that Dr Debono must be under tremendous pressure to capitulate. Nationalist leaning opinion-writers, columnists and bloggers have been demonising and demoralising him ever since he defied minister Austin Gatt over the Arriva fiasco motion weeks ago. But these attempts seem to be producing the opposite effect. Indeed, Dr Debono seems to be galvanising more vigour and moral strength from the onslaught.

It is clear that the tone of Dr Debono’s outbursts suggests that the man is not for turning.

The Prime Minister has now moved on from the flippant and defiant attitude he demonstrated on Xarabank, where he was most evidently bitter, to a more sober and realistic one shown on Dissett. He must have finally come to terms with the fact that the country has been plunged into a grave political crisis similar to the one his predecessor Fenech Adami had exploited to his advantage in 1998.

He knows that he is not facing just Franco Debono but rather he is staring at that wafer thin majority he had won against all odds in 2008 and which is now coming back to haunt him three and a half years into this administration.

Dr Gulia is the Opposition’s Main Spokesman for Tourism and Air Malta