Does the country have a hung parliament, a political stalemate or has it been game, set and match to Labour, the PN, or, in fact, to Franco Debono?

The country is in an utter state of political confusion. This last week had been sold to many in the country as the week to end the legislature. That was very obviously not the case, and those who had been gearing up for an election were left bitterly disappointed. But given the flux in which Maltese politics finds itself these days, they may not have very long to wait after all.

Now that this politically eventful week has been wrapped up, although the grand finale could still possibly come from this morning’s PN general council, the definitive conclusion that so many had hoped for still eludes the country.

The country is still in a state of political limbo for all intents and purposes, and it will remain as such until either an election is called or until the Nationalist Party’s issues with its MP Franco Debono, and vice-versa, are ironed out once and for all.

The Opposition has been hauled over the figurative hot coals by many from certain quarters for having had the audacity to seek an election, not, as they say, on a point of particular policy but rather by exploiting a chink in the PN’s chain of command. The Opposition leader, in reply on Thursday, listed 62 specific reasons why there should be no confidence in the administration of the country.

But quite irrespective of how unsportsmanlike the move might have been deemed by some, what those same people should ask themselves is whether the public would really believe that the PN would not have done the same had the shoe been on the other foot.

The Nationalist opposition, after all, had presented a no-confidence motion against the Labour government in March 1998. And while the Opposition did not completely kick its competition when it was down, there can be little doubt that the Franco Debono situation was exploited for political gain.

And the Opposition’s comparisons to today’s situation to that of 1981 do little to endear it to the PN-minded floating voter. Yes, in 1981 Labour had been constitutionally correct, but morally and ethically wrong in that the party had obtained a majority of parliamentary seats despite not having a majority of votes.

Now while it is true that the PN will be constitutionally correct but ethically and morally wrong were it to not call an election, in 1981 we were speaking about a majority of the electorate, of votes in an election, while 2012 is all about the vote of a single MP.

The PN, there can be little doubt, has been buying itself time since the Franco Debono dilemma reached the point of no return. Its national executive had effectively stretched decision time out until tomorrow’s general council, but to suggest that the Prime Minister should forgo tomorrow’s informal EU summit is ridiculous and perhaps indicative of a desire for nothing but a mad rush for the polls.

If, after all, it is argued that all this political instability is bad for the economy in these challenging times, then certainly we are placing economic requirements that lead to job retention and creation, our standards of living and all that goes along with these things. Ask anyone and they would surely tell you they would prefer having a job in a year or two years’ time rather than having a snap election called as soon as possible. This is another case in which priorities are seriously misconstrued.

The Prime Minister would, in fact, be abdicating his responsibility were he to skip this summit to see to domestic political exigencies. Had that been the case, one wonders what the reaction would have been – equally scathing one would imagine.

And, in the meantime, the House has been temporarily suspended until Wednesday because, for lack of a pairing agreement in the House, which is another story altogether, the government is most unwilling to take any risk whatsoever when the balance of power in the country literally hangs in the balance.

There is no doubt that the issues plaguing the House must now be settled much sooner rather than later, and quite possibly an election is the only way to go, unless the Prime Minister somehow manages to get his house, or rather his side of the house, and his unruly MP in order.

This stability issue cannot linger forever, or indeed until the natural end of this legislature.

In reality, the Prime Minister could very well find the ways and means with which to string out Parliament until he is good and ready to call a general election.

But short of a concrete internal party solution, which has evaded the PN in recent weeks, a problem of such national magnitude simply cannot be left pending for too long: today, Wednesday or sometime soon thereafter an election simply must be called.

Deuce, advantage or game, set and match? There is no umpire truly able to make that call at the moment although it seems that every spectator has his or her own call to make.

The only thing that is for certain is that the ball, as they say, is well and truly now in the government’s court.