The nominations for the post of deputy leader of the PN, which became vacant following the nomination of Tonio Borg for European Commissioner, have been open since Wednesday but as expected nobody so far has come forward.  Indeed, having a two week nomination period is quite pointless since there is no such obligation in the party statute. Probably it will only be in the final couple of days, when interested parties decide to make their move.

For now it is like a phoney campaign, with ‘candidates’ shying away from the media while testing the waters through various unofficial surveys which are being held among the PN councillors who will be deciding the future of the party.

Though this election concerns the deputy leader, PN councillors who number around 850, are well aware that in the current circumstances there is much more at stake – with the chances of re-election in the next general election hanging in the balance.

Having the right deputy leader flanking Dr Gonzi in the last months of this legislature might be crucial to lure back disgruntled Nationalists who are not identifying themselves with the party anymore.

For now with no nominations in, we can only limit ourselves to speculate about the possible outcomes of this election. The front runner seems to be Simon Busuttil, even though Mario De Marco, Chris Said and Tonio Fenech may well have a crucial say, especially if a runoff is necessary. In that case the share of their votes could be the decisive factor which ultimately tilts the balance of power.

This newspaper is well aware of a lobbying campaign in the party to have “a healthy contest with at least two candidates” so as to dispel claims that the successful candidate is the “anointed one”. On the other hand entering the race, for “the good of the party” is no easy decision, as it might well deal a decisive blow to any prospect for the leadership for the losing candidate.

Another side of the coin is the cabinet reshuffle needed to replace Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg who will no longer be foreign affairs minister as well as leader of the House. Though this might seem to be rather academic, considering that the new foreign minister will only be in place for some months with the general election beckoning, it may be the key to secure the budget vote.

The reason is that the prime minister might well seize this opportunity to remove the transport minister, to “focus more on the forthcoming electoral campaign” as Dr Gonzi had suggested in January. In this way he would pile immense pressure on rebel backbencher Franco Debono to toe the party line, and support the budget.

Incidentally though we might disagree on Dr Debono’s approach as well with some of his outrageous comments, he is right in stressing the need for reconciliation. It would be totally ineffective for the PN to have a new deputy leader who stays in the shadow of his superior, without being given the free hand to reach out to disgruntled and address the discontent among party supporters.

PN councillors need to realise that for their party to stand a realistic chance of closing the gap in the final months of this legislature, they need to opt for change. After all this is what the prime minister himself had harped on about, during the PN mass meeting in the Independence activities.