GonziPN’s recent call to get back to basics while pledging that values mattered more than votes was as fake and phoney as the way the whole concept of eco-Gozo has evolved in recent years – with reality being far divorced in the virtual world of GonziPN from the hollow platitudes of the Prime Minister – a master of spin by any yardstick – as he continued playing his favourite game

That of clinging to power at all costs, by gluing himself like Velcro regardless of the fact that he happens to be at the mercy of an independent MP and a rebel MP who has long committed himself to vote against any budgetary vote or measure.

While some have taken the pains to try and decipher Gonzism, in my humble opinion there was not much to decipher – except for his political hypocrisy which came across stronger than ever.

The only occasion when GonziPN might have chosen not to put vote considerations first was when self-interest was allowed to have the better of his agenda.

That is when in the early days of this legislature he had approved an underhand, covert and chunky increase in his own financial package as Prime Minister – the same way that he did for his Cabinet members and colleagues.

From there on it was downhill all the way.

Even from the run-up days of the 2008 general elections when the powers of incumbency reigned supreme.

Something that is finding a perfect echo in the manner in which mega contracts are being handed out to contractors, Mepa permits are being served like hot cheesecakes, promotions galore are the order of the day, and people in key positions are also being given extended contracts that are reported to run longer than the customary term.

I wonder how much the general public can take GonziPN’s claim that for his party, votes play second fiddle to values, when one recalls the reassurances that were as fake as counterfeit Rolexes, given to all employees of Malta Drydocks, Air Malta, Kalaxlokk, GO plc and the hunters and trappers in early 08, that they would not stand to lose anything under a would-be PN government.

One must also say the same about the pivotal election pledges that have remained unaddressed – foremost of which are the income tax cuts that GonziPN had committed himself to introduce in the first year of this legislature as well as his boastful claims about the creation of dignified new jobs when precarious employment is the order of the day, even within government entities and departments. Not to mention various private sector companies that have evidently followed suit by jumping on the same bandwagon.

Reading through GonziPN’s Florence address one cannot but be struck by the fact that he has once again pitted himself on the wrong side of history, by going against the grain of the aspirations of contemporary society; and by opting for an insular, inward looking line of thought that seems to be far more inspired by the most conservative elements within Ratzinger’s Vatican rather than the progressive, moderate and liberal factions of society that he had been trying to address until a few months ago.

All this talk of cherished values pales into insignificance when one recalls that GonziPN has so far held back from condemning those who have debunked the dead (including eminent statesmen) with a unique sense of glee and relish, regardless of whether they might have agreed or not with their politics and/or way of governing. He is simply too politically impotent to even utter a word. Or else he might be highly indebted politically – which is even worse.

The Gonzi regime has been long characterised by inconsistencies – as can be confirmed by the fact that he was the last European leader to embrace Libyan dictator Gaddafi in his tent at the time that the Arab Spring was already well under way in neighbour Tunis, only to change tack when the writing was evidently clear on the wall.

GonziPN’s fake moralising and empty talk about relativism and the common good might be perceived by some as being in sync with his earlier days at the helm of the Catholic Action Movement. But then when one pauses and reflects a bit, the more one realises that he has always been on the wrong side of history when it came to the introduction of positive measures.

If we take IVF, we have a piece of legislation that is half-baked to say the least, and even runs counter to the spirit of the consensual approach reached during the recent parliamentary commission’s valid work on the subject.

If we take the Freedom of Information Act, it became fully operative only days ago with very little fanfare and publicity, so much so that many people I know were not even aware of this.

If on the other hand we look at the Whistleblowers’ Act, it remains inoperative, while government has continued to do its utmost to delay any serious legislation on the state of financing of political parties. Since retaining the status quo seems to be its foremost priority.

I would suggest that next time round rather than trying to sound like a Ratzinger clone particularly on the relativism issue, GonziPN should take a good hard look at and study the latest best seller by Nobel Prize winner Joseph E Stiglitz – The Price of Inequality. An excellent, passionate and engaging book that without resorting to any extremist views, helps us understand better a phenomenon that we are also currently experiencing in Malta itself.

The impact of inequality that results from higher crime, health problems, lower educational achievements, lack of social cohesion, precarious jobs, and a lust for greed.

Stiglitz speaks about how the accumulation of money had never been so much in the hands of the few.

The same applies to Malta. Even when drawing comparisons with the Eddie Fenech Adami premiership era.

Far from countering these trends, GonziPN has fuelled them further, often enhancing them and boosting them.

I cannot but agree more with Stiglitz when he concluded that “this in turn weakens democracy and the rule of law by putting more and more political power in the hands of the few...”

Such policies do not only run counter to solidarity and true values, but they also hamper entrepreneurship, produce slower growth and lower GDP and even worse… also fuel even more instability.

Malta does not only need a stronger and more stable economy but also a more just and fair society. GonziPN’s Florence platitudes are a far cry from offering such a recipe.