These last four years have been characterised by a number of crises, some the result of international occurrences, others self-made by a government that was flaccid from the word go.
A party that stays in Government for far too long is bound to retreat into an ever-contracting shell. GonziPN did, in fact, adopt the ‘small cabinet’ concept with the hindsight of an oligarchic dinosaur. The result is now there for all to see.
It all started even before the birth of the now infamous GonziPN trademark, when the so-called “leadership contest” brought to light the devious workings supporting the ‘change’ that resulted from Gonzi’s election as PN leader.
The resultant dinosaur ministries and their inept ‘I know it all’ quango culture led to backbench unease and quasi-revolt that had to be partially quelled by self-serving compromises. This was followed by a divorce bill fiasco that was as ingenious as it was narrow-minded; a government that afforded a self-approved increase in ministerial wages at a time when families and businesses continued to face difficult economic circumstances; and an administration that created service providers such as ARMS Ltd that continue to dance in their own parallel universe.
Franco Debono followed with alarming accusations levelled at the PN leader himself and claims of the oligarchic nature of his stewardship. Lawrence Gonzi remained mum regarding these accusations. A case of tacit consent?
In trying to deal with his latest crises, the Prime Minister dabbled with the composition of his cabinet with the deftness of a singing crocodile. Franco Debono’s public statements of no confidence in Dr Gonzi were accompanied by deep and serious accusations. Indeed, last Thursday saw one out of Gonzi’s Parliamentary majority of one refuse to give his confidence to GonziPN. The crises of governance are therefore clear to anyone who wants to see. Parliamentary business has become compromised – even when Dr Gonzi is travelling to an informal EU meeting, an event that had previously caused no Parliamentary disruption of any sort.
The political state of Malta is therefore in a quandary and calls for a statesperson who can ignore the immediate narrow interests of his Party to bring us all together for the good of the people and the country. Instead, we have a prime minister who shows himself committed to his narrow partisan interests, with partisan solutions made of opportunism and costly compromise straight out of the Machiavellian theory of self-preservation; a prime minister who has no qualms over grinding the workings of Parliament to a halt because he will attend some meeting or other.
This brings to mind what James Russell Lowell had to say on the subject: “Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is a temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship”.
Gonzi’s lack of statesmanship comes at our collective cost and is in clear contrast to the statesmanship of Opposition Leader Dr. Joseph Muscat, compared to Dr Gonzi’s partisan stand.
Having lost the confidence of one member out of a majority of one, underpinned by accusations most grave, any respectable government would take the necessary decisions to restore stability in the country. Even though the PN has been in power for decades and is evidently clinging on to power at all costs, it has the audacity to refer to Labour’s “hunger for power”. GonziPN has turned on its head the significance of what happened in Parliament on Thursday.
Labour could have easily let Government stew in its own juice. Yet the situation called for statesmanship and Labour did not shrink from its responsibility. It refused to play to the PN antics that had everything to do with self-preservation and nothing to do with the well-being of our country.
Indeed, the events of Thursday have clearly shown the lengths to which GonziPN is prepared to go in its desperation to hang on to power, ignoring what is proper and right.
The partisan culture of the PN has pushed it into an oligarchic corner and the PN has long ago become Malta’s main problem. We now have a government that has diluted Parliament’s democratic workings even more. Power continues to be managed by a small group of faceless individuals, all with faceless interests, as our public broadcaster continues to churn out PN spin in alarming quantities.
In contrast, Labour has its road-map for the modernisation of our nation and has the people who can implement this change. But equally importantly, Labour has a genuine desire to act in the national interest. This will continue to be the cornerstone of all our endeavours in favour of society, families and our capacity for wealth creation. Dr Gonzi may continue to undermine Parliament with the sole aim of limping into the next election wielding incumbency powers and Machiavellian solutions in the process. This seems to be GonziPN’s only concern. In the meantime, Labour will continue to stand for what is right and will always act in the best interests of the people.
Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi is the President of the Labour Party