Never was the contrast so sharp between the two main party leaders, with Joseph Muscat putting the national interest first during Sunday’s very well-attended public speech in Rabat while addressing pivotal socio-economic and investment public challenges and concerns, and the sheer electioneering mode of Lawrence Gonzi, whose main concern seemed to be that of getting Austin Gatt to co-share PBO’s job as key election campaign manager in the hope of ensuring the PN’s re-election

If anyone had any doubt about that one simply had to watch out for the stock in trade electoral battle cries he used. While all of us politicians and political parties should be open to constant criticism, there comes a time when unjust and unfair criticism is whipped up against us.

A typical case in point was a false and incorrect claim made recently that the PL is hell-bent on shifting the country into an electoral mode.

If anything, we have shown prudence and restraint so far, while it has been none other than Lawrence Gonzi who changed gears in this direction, as from the Independence Day festivities onwards. He did this again this Sunday by setting the tone for what looked to make like an imminent election campaign.

Had the September pitch just been a one-off pronouncement to try and whip up some frenzy among a jaded and disillusioned lot, then it can be easily pardoned since this happens to be the stuff of which conventional politics is made.

But on the other hand, it seems that elections continue to remain on Gonzi’s mind – regardless of any disquiet that may exist in his ranks, thanks to a number of rebel MPs, some of whom might happen to be more vocal than others.

I am talking in the plural, because it is common knowledge that Franco Debono apart, Gonzi continues to be bad mouthed even publicly by a number of his backbenchers, reportedly even by some parliamentary assistants.

Some even seem to refer to him as the ultimate in U-turn making, who will not blink twice or baulk at the mere prospect of resorting to wilder U-turns in future if political convenience and circumstances might so dictate.

It is equally common knowledge that political survival has been so much at the core of Gonzi’s strategies that unofficial briefs were reported to have been given to all ministers and their senior staffers to do the unthinkable and bend backwards to accommodate a particular dissenting Nationalist MP, particularly until the Budget 2012 was approved throughout all its stages.

Whether one would prefer to dismiss such a strategy as a sign of political weakness or not, I leave it to your discerning readers to figure out.

What is certain is that it is symptomatic of two things – that there is nothing new in Gonzi’s long promised new way of doing politics, and secondly that it says much about the man’s poor leadership qualities.

This is something that should worry us even more when recalling the constant summitry at EU level that he needs to attend so long as he remains Prime Minister, alongside such heavyweights as Merkel and Sarkozy, among others.

All his talk about ‘the country coming first’ was mere waffle.

Although by the time of writing it seems most unlikely that Gonzi will go for a vote of confidence, it is so obvious that for him such votes can and must only be taken when perceived as being winnable.

He went for it in the wake of the public transport reform disaster because he could foretell the outcome. This time round, because a lost vote of confidence seems to be most likely, he seems to be doing his best to avoid it.

Once again more resort to politics of convenience.

Someone very closely connected to the PN tipped me off some two weeks ago that we cannot exclude the possibility that votes in Parliament will be timed and dragged on to suit this government’s convenience and actual survival.

There was nothing in any way altruistic in anything Gonzi did in the last few days that put the national interest first.

Not even the Cabinet reshuffle could be tagged in such a category, so much so that as your editorial pointed out “The Cabinet reshuffle was mostly an attempt to keep the peace, rather than one which was aimed at improving the efficiency of the Gonzi team.”

Gonzi is hardly believed anymore because his reassurance that the splitting of the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry was not the result of Franco Debono pressures convinced no one.

The same can be said for the promotion of three parliamentary secretaries. Such a promotion would not have happened were it not for the whole rumpus created over the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry.

As for the withdrawal of the ministerial honoraria for only one year – or rather till the end of this legislature, this was politics of convenience of the worst kind. Rather than leading by example, as Gonzi claimed to have done, it was a knee-jerk poll driven reaction to the speedy erosion of public support on his covert mishandling of this issue.

When it was still not too clear whether Gonzi would give in to Debono’s demands or not, former party officials like Frank Portelli were reported to have advised that no political party experiencing internal turmoil can win a general election, and that an early election should be avoided since the PN according to him was not yet geared for it and would risk suffering heavily at the polls. He was also quoted by The Times as having said that calling an election could be detrimental to the party.

The same can be said for Joe Saliba’s words of advice, when it is common knowledge that he is reportedly part of the PN’s electoral strategy group and also known to be close to some of the well-known and long identified mega contractors who might possibly have every interest in milking all the goodies till the very end.

Whether the PN delegates will reconfirm Gonzi or not is their problem and theirs alone. How much truth there is in the PM’s claim that he is ready to resign and save the country is something that only time will prove right or wrong.

But at day’s end, Gonzi owes it to the general public to spell it out loud and clear – whether he does or does not command a parliamentary majority.

As to what could have led to such a situation remains his problem and his alone, and almost irrelevant to the whole issue, particularly since this administration has had more than its fair share of political misjudgements, insensitivities and wrong priorities.

In most cases at taxpayers’ and voters’ direct expense.

The core issue remains that the country is in dire need of a stability that Dr Gonzi can no longer provide.

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