Following the announcement last Thursday that Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando was resigning from the PN parliamentary group, the Prime Minister has been trying to put on a brave face by adopting a business-as-usual approach. Though the former PN backbencher declared his support for the government in implementing the proposals listed in the electoral programme, any suggestion that the government still enjoys a stable majority in the House of Representatives may be too optimistic.
As it stands, the government now has lost its one-seat majority and is at the mercy of Dr Pullicino Orlando. Though some might argue that this is not a coalition government in the conventional sense, as Dr Pullicino Orlando is an independent MP rather than a representative of a political party, it still works out the same way. The last coalition government in Malta dates back to the early 50s. Back then it was a coalition between the Nationalist Party initially led by Nerik Mizzi who was later succeeded by Ġorġ Borg Olivier and the Malta Workers’ Party led by Sir Paul Boffa. Between 1950 and 1955 there were three short-lived coalition governments, until the Malta Labour Party headed by Dom Mintoff won an outright majority and consigned coalition governments to the history books – until now. Having three general elections in five years speaks volumes about the prospects for political stability. Judging from the lack of chemistry between the newly independent MP and some Cabinet members as well as factoring in other rebel MPs still forming part of the party, describing the Prime Minister’s job as challenging would be an understatement.
Nevertheless, the Prime Minister has openly declared that he feels no need to consult the President in a move which may be intended as one to mount pressure on Dr Pullicino Orlando to support the government unless he does not want to end up as scapegoat.
Dr Gonzi has expressed his confidence that the government will be able to survive up to November to present its fifth and final budget of the legislature. In the meantime, the Prime Minister has announced that when parliament reconvenes in October it will have a busy schedule ahead with the Cohabitation Bill, the Whistleblowers’ Act, and the IVF Bill among others. While there is wide consensus that the earlier these bills are enacted the better, their timing leaves much to be desired. The Cohabitation Bill promised by the PN way back in 1998 has suddenly surfaced back on the agenda last year following the introduction of divorce. One sincerely hopes that such bill is not being treated as means to portray the PN as a liberal party following its anti-divorce stance a year ago. As for the Whistleblowers’ Act which was promised with so much pomp prior to the last election, it is rather baffling as to why it has been relegated to the back burner from day one of this legislature. Such decisions raise suspicions that these bills have been kept in the closet to be used as a last card in the eventuality that the government finds itself with its back against the wall, as no one will dare to bring down the government in such circumstances, including the Opposition. As a result, the government will be winning more time.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s decision to bind himself to consult his former backbencher on every other issue not listed in the electoral programme must have been a hard one to swallow by hard-core Nationalist voters with some suggesting that Malta is now effectively being led by two Prime Ministers. In an interview published in our sister paper The Malta Independent on Sunday, Dr Pullicino Orlando pledged to find a positive way forward in the remaining months of the legislature which ends next spring. As they say, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. While both sides may be agreeing in principle on several issues, when it comes to the nitty-gritty it may be a complete different story.