This summer was expected to be a hot one. Judging by the first few weeks, this presumption is proving to be right. It is turning out to be a summer full of twists with Prime Minister Gonzi currently situated right at the epicenter chumming in a gloomy mist of idle conjecture. In the coming months, we will all look back and weigh the consequences of what is happening now
The developments in the first weeks of July and the outcome of the meeting between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Dr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando were, in a way, expected. Those who follow the local political scenario could not help but note that despite the efforts to portray a ‘business as usual’ attitude, the reality is that the walls have been collapsing down on GonziPN for some time now. The situation has been precarious for a number of months now and Dr Gonzi was already treading on thin ice when he was confronted a number of times by different members of his own party during this legislation. Things seem to have precipitated further following Pullicino Orlando’s resignation from the party. Things then moved into overdrive and entered unchartered waters when Dr Pullicino Orlando decided to go against his Parliamentary Group’s Whip and vote with the opposition on a motion that led to the resignation of Malta’s EU envoy Richard Cachia Caruana. At that point it becomes pretty obvious that the Nationalist Party was imploding with severe consequences to its elements. The subsequent declaration of Dr Pullicino Orlando that he is now in coalition with PN confirmed the earlier hypothesis while it put the onus primarily on the Prime Minister to take some very important decisions.
Nevertheless, the Prime Minister seems determined to continue in his impasse, holding the country suspended by the growing uncertainty. With parliament officially closed till the first of October, Dr Gonzi can afford to do nothing and this in spite of loss of parliamentary legitimacy for his government. In the past months he made reference to Alfred Sant's decision to go for elections, when Mintoff withdrew his support and removed his one seat parliamentary majority. He went as far as trying to attribute a sense of weakness in Sant’s decision when the exact opposite is true. Such frame of mind suggests that Dr Gonzi has lost respect for basic democratic principles.
The GonziPN can twist and spin the story beyond reasonable boundaries but the bottom line remains the same: That is, that the PN has lost the working majority in the House. Even if the Constitution still gives the PN the legal rights to remain in power, morally and politically it might not. There is no other way but to put an end to this situation by giving the people the right to express their view.
By refusing to take this step, the Prime Minister is putting himself in a situation where his legitimacy is being eroded. The Prime Minister must realise that ultimately any democratically-elected sovereign derives his legitimacy more from an unwritten social contract than from the written laws.
The action, or better, the inaction, displayed by the Prime Minister during the last few months has cast a long shadow on our parliamentary system. The fact that the parliament was called to vote only a couple of times since the beginning of the year leads many to question the merits of our representative democracy. Some, went as far as describing the current situation as indicative of a form democracy where the parliament is just a talking shop, a decorative façade for the dictatorship of the oligarchy. Various persons are expressing their concern that in reality, the real power resides behind the scenes and that decisions which determine the living standards of the majority are unaccounted-for as they are not exposed to public debate.
Faced with challenges to his legitimacy, the Prime Minister is attempting to invoke a blurred version of the mandate of heaven by trying to press on with the message that only he and his party are fit to administrate this nation. There is a clear attempt to push the idea that the economy is doing well and that’s thanks to the vision and wise leadership of the party in government. There is also the not-so-subtle attempt to portray the image that the growth capacity of the economy is dependent solely on the premise that the PN remains in government. Any other alternative is discharged out of hand.
Fortunately, this country has evolved over the years and old tricks are of little use today. Nowadays, the Maltese are politically more mature and scaremongering is less effective than it used to be. This country deserves to look forward and not backwards. To do this, it first needs stability and confidence and these are not achieved by making a joke of our democratic system.
PL Spokesman for Gozo