The Nationalist Party has finally woken up.
It has taken it quite a while to digest the heavy defeat to which it succumbed, but after six months of stupor, at last it has started to show signs that it can fight. After leaving the sole Jason Azzopardi to combat a wave of questionable decisions taken during the summer by Minister Manwel Mallia – and which have continued into autumn – it seems to be gearing up to fulfil its role as it should.
It’s not that I agree much with the walk-out from the House of Representatives last Tuesday, soon after the Speaker ruled that the Opposition Leader, prima facie, was in breach of privilege. To my mind, it was a drastic move that should have been avoided. Still, I guess that the stunt did give the jump-start the PN needed to show that it is alive and kicking, and will not be intimidated.
Walking out of Parliament in protest is yet another sign that the Nationalist Party is resorting to similar tactics to those that were used by the Labour Party when in Opposition, when circumstances were totally different. Even the idea of holding press conferences, hastily called at venues that are connected with the subject in hand, is a leaf out of Labour’s book. Perhaps the PN thinks that, since this strategy worked for Labour, it will work for them too. But this may not necessarily be the case.
Whether or not Simon Busuttil will win the argument on the Speaker’s ruling remains to be seen. The Nationalist Party has said that it is prepared to go all the way up to the European Court of Human Rights to defend its interests if it loses the battle in Parliament and the local courts.
Frankly, I am still at a loss to understand why the Prime Minister sought the defence of the Speaker on the statements made by Dr Busuttil with regard to the John Dalli investigation. What Dr Busuttil said in Parliament had been said outside the House too, and if Dr Joseph Muscat thought he had been slandered, he should have gone to the courts of law to defend himself. Using parliamentary structures is a sign of weakness on the PM’s part. It is also an attack on freedom of expression.
There are other issues. I have already mentioned the Jason Azzopardi-Manwel Mallia political duel over the Home Affairs Ministry. This week we had more chapters, with Dr Azzopardi filing a judicial protest to legally contest the promotions that have been made in the Armed Forces of Malta, which is going a step further than just taking a political stand.
The government responded with the third promotion in as many weeks given to an officer who is now clearly the favourite to replace outgoing AFM Commander Martin Xuereb. The promotion of Colonel Jeffrey Curmi to Deputy Commander of the AFM – after moving up from major to lieutenant-colonel and from lieutenant-colonel to full colonel in two weeks – is this a record? – came one day after Dr Mallia had been reluctant to give details on the subject when questioned by journalists. I do not think that, on Thursday, he did not know what the Government Gazette would be publishing on Friday.
The PL used to accuse Nationalist ministers of being arrogant. Now it seems that they have fallen into the same trap. To have Minister Konrad Mizzi say that the PN has targeted his wife, who has been appointed a government envoy, just because he is doing so well in his portfolio is a perfect example of arrogance.
The government is also repeatedly putting the blame on others for its blunders. We had Minister Leo Brincat closing down the Marsascala Family Park, basing his decision on what others said. We have seen it this week with the suspension of the Gozo Channel duty manager after the ferry was called back to Cirkewwa to pick up Minister Anton Refalo. We have seen it again this week when a circular announcing that students studying for ‘O’ levels in post-secondary schools will not be receiving stipends was withdrawn because, it was said, it did not have Minister Evarist Bartolo’s approval.
What stands out in these first six months of a Labour government is that ministers are finding it convenient to blame their predecessors on matters that suit them. We had Minister Joe Mizzi blaring his horn over the Cottonera project that was not completed by the Nationalist government. We also had Minister Godfrey Farrugia holding the PN responsible for out-of-stock medicines, and still not realising that the situation has become worse since he took over.
But then Labour takes so much credit on results obtained, thanks to the previous government.
This week, for example, we had Minister Edward Scicluna speak of Malta’s financial resilience, without saying that this success was based on what the PN had done since the crisis erupted some years back.
We had Minister Karmenu Vella beating his chest after tourism results showed that Malta is on track for yet another record year, when it is known that this industry works “in advance” and what is being achieved today is a result of the planning carried out last year.
We even had Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s name on a plaque at the newly-opened aquarium in Qawra, when the project was commissioned and mostly built during the previous administration. Dr Muscat has promised Lawrence Gonzi that he latter will be invited to open the new Parliament building.
Well, the aquarium is another Gonzi project and, as far as I know, he was not invited.
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