After all the bluff and tantrums have subsided, all the cliches’ and offensives have been made and Dr Mizzi has shifted his desk to face the corner instead of the harbour view, we are left with a limping government.
Dr Muscat may want it to be business as usual. Dr Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri are itching to get on their bikes and carry on with the implementation of the roadmap and Dr Louis Grech, Minister for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, is quite hard pressed to restructure the whole manifesto in the light of the total rejection and failure of the labour party to deliver on its key policies, such as the transparency, meritocracy and accountability but not only.
Mr Grech will not be alone in feeling the ground has shifted under his feet. He is one Minister from among so many others, who will privately have the sense and intellect to judge where the problems lie and to discern the rot beneath. That, in fact, was one reason why he fit the role of Deputy Prime Minister at the time of the 2013 election. He would be a trustworthy face to those voters who had switched to voting labour, but still needed some assurance that there would be a check and balance in the labour party system.
Like so many others of his colleagues, not least the Minister of Finance, Profs Edward Scicluna, his voice has been mostly silent. It does make one wonder whether all the labour contingency are as meek and obedient as all that. The intense militancy of the labour party in opposition, the single purpose of the roadmap, the setting up of the extensive system of positions of trust, the choice of foreign partners such as Azerbaijan and Libya and the big majority all point to a united, single-minded project to deliver a strong government, immune to attack. It would be naïve, however, to assume that all the ministers and party members are not feeling the betrayal and the whiff of weakness coming from high places.
In such times, it is quite natural for individuals to start to smell blood and take stock of the situation. Three candidates for the post of deputy leader of the labour party have come forward. The recently elected candidate before them and who resigned shortly after, was Dr Konrad Mizzi. Dr Mizzi was able to contest the post due to the elaborate changes effected by Dr Joseph Muscat, leader of the labour party and he was easily seen as the anointed one.
The three candidates, Dr Chris Cardona, Dr Owen Bonnici and Mr Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi will stand for election for the post of Deputy Leader, replacing Dr Konrad Mizzi after his short stint. It is easy to see that an opportunity has been created, earlier than anyone may have imagined. The public that sees a future for Labour, can breathe with some relief that a crack is opening, although there will be nervousness at pushing the crack open and letting in some light, after all the darkness and secrecy surrounding the 4th floor of Hamrun and another floor in another building and indeed, around all of the contracts signed by the government which have never seen the light of scrutiny.
So much was invested into bringing Dr Muscat into power. Nobody would have dreamt that the threats to power would come from within their own group, more than anywhere else. The humiliation endured by many of the government’s MPs, during the two votes of No Confidence, were enough to send alarm bells ringing throughout the realm. People do not like to be humiliated. It is, in fact, a prime motivator for retaliation and is often the cause of conflict.
At such times, human nature is quick to respond and come up with a new strategy to ensure security and prosperity. The enemy is soon re-defined and the mentality changes accordingly. What served as a good safety insurance before, is now worthless. Where obedience and loyalty prevailed on all accounts, the shift to risk-prevention will soon replace that compliance and the necessity to break will become instinctive.
At least, the political agenda will need to change. No longer assured of full support or covered by the reward system, the leader may become replaceable in the long term. Those who were compelled to toe the line and carry the can for the guilty persons, will silently feel quite disillusioned at what the same guilty persons have been allowed to get away with. Some, such as Marlene Farrugia were quicker than others to realise this ugly situation and to take appropriate action by leaving the party and standing by her principles. For others, it will take some more time perhaps, but the writing is on the wall and facing the truth will become unavoidable.
The fact is that by sticking with Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi and standing like the linchpin between the two, the Prime Minister is now a lame duck. His authority is diminished and his credibility is seriously damaged.
Shortly after taking office, one of the first things announced in a press conference by Dr Muscat was the deal he had struck with Libya for the purchase of oil. It was dead in the water as Libya’s oilfields came under attack and the whole country was resembling a war zone. The two governments that emerged from the wreckage try to resemble a unified and legitimate democracy today, ready to provide the leadership that the country needs to become one again and face the huge challenges to peace and stability around it. Similarly our country now flounders under the premiership of an internationally discredited government.
The thirst for power and wealth will not be side-lined by a couple of greedy entrepreneurs. The force of protest will grow and the previously unassailable leader may well face isolation from the rest of the party faithful. Of course, the pretence will be kept up and the show of unity will not be lacking, but what was until very recently predictable may now have a strong element of unpredictability. This edge will be exploited. Encouraged by the impotence of Dr Muscat to take effectual decisions to deal with the complications presented by his closest aides, there will be those who grasp an opportunity or simply have the best for their party at heart and sense that survival is uncertain.
Whether or not the electoral manifesto of Malta Taghna Lkoll is being implemented is again another matter for speculation. There is a Minister responsible to make sure it is, but it seems to have a mind of its own and is quite the enfant terrible. Is there anyone in the labour fold capable of bringing discipline, making changes and holding its inventors to account? Judging from the vote of confidence in the government and in Konrad Mizzi, it would seem unlikely but that is where the Prime Minister should be careful. Just because all was hunky dory for him then, does not mean there aren’t those who smell blood.