At times, some unusual coincidence takes place. One such coincidence is the fate of Bert van Marwijk and that of Lawrence Gonzi

For those who do not know, Bert van Marwijk was until recently, the head coach of the Dutch national football team. Two years ago, he was considered a hero in Netherlands for taking the Dutch team to the final of the World Cup. Now he has just been sacked by his football federation after a disastrous performance during the Euro 2012 competition.

The Dutch went to Poland and Ukraine among the favourites to lift the trophy but failed to pick up a point in Group B, losing to Denmark, Germany and, in their final game, Portugal. Consequently they were bolted home early. For many observers and supporters, their early elimination was a real embarrassment and was bad enough to make them rethink how they should go about rehabilitating themselves. Their football federation, the KNVB, even before the team slumped against Portugal, outwitted and outfought for the third successive game, tried to keep a straight face in informing that their head coach Bert van Marwijk’s position would be under review at the end of the campaign.

During their last game, the curtains were inevitably falling fast for the Dutch coach. One particular close-up by the cameras just a moment after Netherlands conceded their last goal in the tournament captured the miserable state in which their head coach was in. He just looked helpless. He could not summon any visible anger, frustration or even sadness. His face began to twitch, as if the pressure of containing his emotions could not quite be kept in. He looked like a man who knew his time was up.

The pundits attributed this miserable performance of the Dutch team to the internal problems with the squad. There were reports of a deep division between the players. Instead of teamwork, the team was characterised by lack of cooperation and a total absence of any team ethics. Inevitably, the buck stops with the manager and he lost his job as a result.

Lawrence Gonzi seems to be following in the footsteps of Bert van Marwijk. After winning the election four years ago, Lawrence Gonzi was considered a formidable political animal. Things look rather different now. In less than a month, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi twice lost his parliamentary majority.

Having lost the vote on former Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici, the Prime Minister was hit again by a further blow after losing the vote on the Permanent Representative. After this, the Prime Minister just looked helpless. Just like Bert Van Marwijk, he looked lost and confused.

Faced with an outcome he did not anticipate, the Prime Minister tried to put on a brave face. He tried not to talk about the on-going developments in Parliament and within his party. Instead, he spent the day surrounded by the winner of the Nationalist Party’s Prime Minister For a Day competition. It was only after a few days that the Prime Minister found his voice again by insisting and vowing that he will continue marching on.

This type of behaviour cannot go on for long. The Prime Minister knows that very well. He knows that the situation is untenable and has now decided to appear tough by suggesting that some form of disciplinary action will be taken against those who did not toe the party lines in parliament. But he also knows that, unfortunately for him, the options at his disposal are very limited.

Now it is rather obvious that the only real solution to the internal crisis that has engulfed the PN is to go to the electorate. The gimmick of a leadership contest, which looked more like a leadership gala, served no real purpose but to lose vital time.

Similar to what happened to the Dutch national football team, GonziPN is divided. One prominent member of the party said that the PN is bleeding. The rifts and the divisions are apparent to all. The ultimate responsibility lies with the Prime Minister. He failed to unite people in his party and has instead created factions. Now he should bring an end to this uncertainty.

This hesitation on part of the Prime Minister is having a negative impact on the economy. The instability creates uncertainty and uncertainty makes people reluctant to take decisions. We can see this trend in the statistical figures where private consumption is on the decline as is private investment. No wonder the economy is in a technical recession. The Prime Minister is trying to prolong the legislature in the hope of gaining more votes but the interest of the country is to have stability again.