The vote of no confidence debated and decided in Parliament this week produced the exact opposite of what was intended. Instead of stability it accentuated political instability. We have a government without a parliamentary majority, an Opposition that failed to assemble a majority for its no-confidence vote and a rebel Member of Parliament who is not supporting the government but has not yet stepped up his resistance to the point of total adversity.

Dr Franco Debono has a vested interested in not toppling the government. The moment he does so, he is history. And once he is history, he cannot deliver the agenda for the progress of the many valid points he raised in his criticism of government’s inertia.

What stands out from these events is that the vast majority of MPs agree with Dr Debono’s arguments. Many find fault with his methodology but that’s another matter. What no one can deny is that Dr Debono believes so much in his causes that, not unlike yours truly, he is prepared to sacrifice his political career to push forward an agenda in which he truly believes. He has put the national interest before his own.

For that alone, Franco deserves respect.

The PN government cannot continue to govern without a parliamentary majority. The Prime Minister will not be taken seriously in international fora and the government cannot function if it is not sure it can find a parliamentary majority, even for crucial money bills. So when, this weekend, the PN General Council expresses unconditional confidence in its current leader, it has to mandate him to inform the President that Dr Gonzi no longer commands a majority in Parliament, and to ask the President to dissolve Parliament unless, in the opinion of the President, there could be another member who can obtain the support of a majority in Parliament as it is composed at present.

Once this happens, the President should not make the same mistake as that made in 1998 by then President Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, who dissolved Parliament without making any effort to explore if there was another person in Parliament who could form a majority government.

The President would have to consult with the Leader of the Opposition and with Dr Debono to see if, between them, they can form an interim government with a parliamentary majority for a strict mandate to deliver the agenda on which there is broad agreement. This will include, as a minimum, legislation to control the financing of political parties, changes to the libel law and changes to the Broadcasting Act to place TVM under the direct responsibility of the Broadcasting Authority with adequate and fair access to political parties. These matters have only been paid lip-service for more decades than I care to count, and the PN government is clearly against any change of the status quo that has given it a clear political advantage to achieve and retain power in spite of the democratic deficit inbuilt in the present situation, where political parties are financed by ‘donations’ from business circles who then expect a handsome return for their investment from the government they helped to elect.

If any proof was needed that the PN is not serious about promoting appropriate legislation in this regard, this was demonstrated when it brushed aside the work done by Dr Franco Debono when he was parliamentary assistant in the office of the Prime Minister, and instead promoted a new draft, reportedly written by President Emeritus Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, which makes a mockery of the whole idea of bringing discipline to the current chaotic situation of political party financing.

The draft suggested by Mifsud Bonnici brings in the concept that party members can escape discipline for any amount of money donated. To avoid the intended discipline, all that a donor with investment expectations has to do, according to this draft, is become a party member.

Franco Debono’s draft, which now forms the basis of a Private Member’s Bill presented to Parliament, does away with such nonsense but in my opinion is still not strong enough. I continue to maintain that all donations to political parties should be abolished, there should be no thresholds under which donors can swim without any discipline, and that political parties should be just that – and not holding companies for clusters of businesses including media companies, travel agencies or mobile phone network operators. Political parties, as the main instruments for the execution of democracy, should be financed in a controlled manner by public funds. Taxpayers pay for so many frivolous projects, even for a bridge on the breakwater, that financing democracy is small fry, especially if it helps stamp out expensive corruption.

To ensure that Debono gets the respect he deserves, the legislative suite of the interim government should be commonly referred to as the Debono legislation as he performs his last dance in politics by delivering on the agenda in which he so firmly believes.

This has to happen within a very brief time frame so that once Parliament – under the interim government and possibly led by Dr Debono – performs the restricted agenda agreed with the President, Parliament is dissolved and the country proceeds to a general election before the summer.

This suggestion will have another great advantage to protect democracy, the national interest and taxpayers’ money. It will remove the power of incumbency that the PN so masterfully uses in the run-up to general elections, which is a serious source of financial ruin to the country’s economy and the physical environment.

Once the interim government has a very restricted mandate, the government will go into caretaker mode, with new employment in the public sector totally frozen, the issue of permits by Mepa postponed until after the election, and all the freebies and favours so common during election campaigns abolished.

So those that have been occupying Armier illegally for decades at the expense of law-abiding citizens will receive no promises regarding having their illegal position regularised, hunters and bird trappers will not be promised the impossible, surplus Air Malta employees will not be promised easy employment alternatives with the government and many other decisions out of the strictly ordinary course of business will have to wait until a new government is sworn in.

This may freeze the economy for a few weeks (as all general election campaigns normally do) until a fresh election before the summer, but it will save the country the huge cost of abuse of incumbency and will respect the true principles of democratic values.

Franco Debono deserves a platform from which he can give us his last bow.

www.alfred-mifsud.blogspot.com