The nomination of Tonio Borg as Malta’s European Commissioner will open up the opportunity for the Prime Minister to carry out a reshuffle of his Cabinet, months, if not weeks before the election.
Last Saturday, Dr Borg’s name was put forward to the European Commission as a successor to John Dalli, who resigned the post after the EU's anti-fraud office found that he was aware of an attempt at corruption surrounding new legislation on the Swedish tobacco product known as snus. Dalli has denied the claim.
The incident has caused great embarrassment to Malta. But, as in other things, such happenings always provide an opportunity, and Dr Lawrence Gonzi has seen it as a way to try to sort matters within his own political set-up.
In a way, Dr Borg has given up – at least temporarily – his local political career, and this for a mere 18 months as a European commissioner representing Malta. His nomination is still to be approved by the European Commission and the European Parliament, but if this happens, he would have to resign from Parliament and from Foreign Minister. He will also be immediately resigning from the post of Nationalist Party deputy leader and will eventually have to give up his position as Leader of the House.
His sacrifice – if it can be called as such – paves the way for changes in the Cabinet set-up and also in the top echelons of the Nationalist Party. The scenarios are completely different.
In the government system, it is up to Dr Gonzi to choose what to do to replace Dr Borg. He might simply replace him with someone else, or he may take the opportunity to carry out a complete overhaul to his Cabinet, which may also include the removal of other members, in a bid to afford his party a fresh appearance on the eve of an election. Ministers Austin Gatt and Dolores Cristina have already declared that they will not contest the next election, with the former also embroiled in a collision-course with Nationalist MP Franco Debono, who has claimed that he will vote against the budget if Dr Gatt is still a minister when it is presented.
Some months ago, it had been speculated that Dr Gatt could resign his seat before the election in order to co-run the PN machine towards the election. The occasion that has presented itself might seem as the right time for this to happen.
Given that lately, the two parties have been at loggerheads on Parliament’s agenda, Dr Borg’s replacement as Leader of the House will be a delicate matter for the PM.
It is an altogether different matter when it comes to the PN. Here, there must be an election for a deputy leader to replace Dr Borg and this may be seen as a way to revive a beleaguered party at an opportune time. Several MPs may see it as a chance to seize a position that could eventually lead to the leadership – Dr Gonzi himself was a deputy leader before climbing to the ladder’s uppermost rung. All those interested did not expect the opportunity to arise so early, and they must make their minds up quickly.
It might not seem to be the right time for them to take on such a responsibility but, on the other hand, an eventual deputy leadership will be a launching pad for them, whatever the outcome of the next election.