Simon Busuttil has, for years, been unofficially considered as the next leader of the Nationalist Party. His calm demeanour, intelligence and argumentation skills have always been his strong points. Now, with more experience as well as the taking up of other duties including the writing of election programmes and his appointment as the Prime Minister’s special delegate to bridge the gap between the party and civil society, he has earned more kudos in the eyes of the party hardcore.
Now he is halfway there, as his overwhelming victory in last Friday’s vote elevated him to the post of second-in-command of a party that needs a new face at the top on the eve of an election that was impossible to win for a thousand reasons, but now could be attainable. It is a good stepping-stone towards the leadership, when Dr Lawrence Gonzi decides to call it a day.
Tonio Fenech also has great qualities. First as parliamentary secretary for finance and in the past five difficulties years as minister, his decisions kept the country afloat while others around us floundered. More than that, while other governments introduced austerity measures that led to protests in the streets, high unemployment rates and bail-outs, here in Malta it was only last Wednesday that a number of measures were put forward in the budget for 2013 that will ease the tax burden and strengthen all that has been painstakingly built in previous years.
It was good for the Prime Minister to remark, on Friday, that Mr Fenech has achieved what no other finance minister has done in the past – that of having the Opposition Leader say that he will retain everything that is being proposed in the budget, should he win the election.
There was one thing, however, that stuck out like a sore thumb when I was watching the PN’s extraordinary general council meeting last Friday – and this was the conspicuous absence of a number of ministers. Apart from Joe Cassar, who publicly supported Dr Busuttil, Francis Zammit Dimech, who was chairman of the electoral commission, and George Pullicino who, as far as I know, did not take a position, no other minister was picked by the Net TV cameras.
In a show of force, the Cabinet – except for those mentioned in the previous paragraph – endorsed Mr Fenech’s candidature in full. To people on the outside, it appeared that they had taken a decision to put forward Mr Fenech as the Cabinet’s candidate. They put all their resources behind him. But they lost – and quite heavily too – meaning that, in one way, Mr Fenech’s defeat was also a defeat for the Cabinet.
The good thing about this election was the renewed enthusiasm within the Nationalist Party fold, a fervour that had seemed to gradually dissipate over the last term in office. Now that we are just a few weeks away from the election, the PN has a new vigour. And, strange but true, while the Labour Party, following three electoral losses, has a new face at the top with old faces behind him, the Nationalist Party has instead greatly transformed itself and will challenge for a fourth successive win with so many young politicians.
In all probability, for the first time ever, we will be right in the middle of an election campaign over Christmas. We will eat our turkey and Christmas logs and open our gifts over political arguments, as by then we will probably know the date of the next election. It could also be one of the longest election campaigns ever, given that it will most likely be more than the usual five weeks – the minimum required by law – simply because there is Christmas in the way.
As things stand now, the House is set to reject the budget, giving Dr Gonzi no option but to have Parliament dissolved and establish the date of the election. It would be a great pity if the budget measures announced by the government – from which everyone is set to benefit, and not only from the tax cuts – do not see the light of day.
On the other hand, it is an achievement in itself that the government has managed to reach this stage in the legislature in spite of all the shenanigans. Come to think of it, this term is already longer than the three Eddie Fenech Adami governments, and could equal, if not surpass, the first Lawrence Gonzi government.
Whether this will turn out to be positive for the PN remains to be seen. But it certainly did allow the government to complete its programme – or at least move closer to doing so – with the measures mentioned in the budget last Wednesday.
On that same day, we had the appointment of Francis Zammit Dimech as the new Foreign Minister, replacing Tonio Borg who resigned after his acceptance as Malta’s European Commissioner. Dr Zammit Dimech is not a new face in politics, having occupied several ministerial positions in previous Nationalist administrations, but his appointment is a clear sign from the PN, and most of all from the Prime Minister himself, that loyalty is rewarded.
When Dr Zammit Dimech was not given a ministerial post in 2008, he did not cause trouble. He continued to toe the party line, and his was the only strong voice from the backbench that supported the government and party in each and every way. Very often, in the most difficult moments, he was on the frontline – and by this I mean on TV discussion programmes too – to defend what the government and party was doing.
His loyalty and sacrifice have paid off. Yes, his tenure as Foreign Minister will not be long, but his appointment cannot be measured by time. It should be measured from another point of view – that of being a repayment for his reliability, trustworthiness and total allegiance.
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