Gonzi vs Gonzi

By profession the Prime Minister is a lawyer. It is the duty of a lawyer to defend the interests' of his/her clients. As Prime Minister, Lawrence Gonzi's primary obligation is to uphold the national interest. A culture of abuse has been entrenched in our society; there is always a pardon for the few that get caught.

Upon taking office, Dr Gonzi promised a new style of politics. Hand-picked by his predecessor, he probably believed he could break away from the legacy of Eddie Fenech Adami, which had been tainted by all shades of corruption. From the police force to the courts; from Queiroz to Zeppi l-Hafi. Dr Fenech Adami too, when still in opposition, had promised to eradicate corruption. During the 1987 electoral campaign he had insisted that corruption had become "institutionalised" and that "...those that do not fight corruption are themselves corrupt". By the end of Dr Fenech Adami's tenure as Prime Minister, little had changed. Now the chickens have come home to roost.

Dr Gonzi did make an initial effort to appear keen on cleansing his burrow. The opportunity arose when his Foreign Affairs Minister slipped and Dr Gonzi manoeuvred to get him out of his Cabinet. John Dalli became the Prime Minister's sacrificial lamb. The unfortunate thing was that Mr Dalli was Dr Gonzi's primary adversary for the leadership of the Nationalist Party, and a person who finds it hard to accept defeat. Dr Gonzi's "crusade against corruption" soon assumed the hallmark of personal retribution. And it stopped there.

From a management perspective, Dr Gonzi committed a number of other grave mistakes. He lost the opportunity to make a fresh start by practically sticking to the same faces that made up the Cabinet of his predecessor. Realising that the government's finances were in a big mess, he decided to assume direct responsibility. Dr Gonzi wanted to prove that he could outdo his arch-rival even in this field. However, when the going got tough and more and more taxes had to be imposed on us Maltese, Dr Gonzi realised that, unlike Dr Fenech Adami, he had no one behind whom to hide. Whenever his ministers failed him, Dr Gonzi opted to assume direct responsibility. It was he who headed the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Tourism and decided to set a target to increase the inflow of tourists by 150,000 between 2005-2007. He also assumed direct responsibility for the Mater Dei Hospital project, that white elephant that could easily turn into a nightmare for our people.

Dr Gonzi's worst political gaffe in controlling corruption perhaps was the way his government handled accusations made by the Auditor General on the financial embezzlements that had taken place at the Voice of the Mediterranean. Dr Gonzi's Administration could have acted decisively, distancing itself, so that justice could take its course. After all, Richard Muscat belonged to the previous regime and did not form part of the "core" group around the Gonzi government. Instead, we ended up by government wanting to prosecute the Auditor General himself. Dr Gonzi missed a unique chance to send an unequivocal message to all: Those that abuse their power will have to pay the consequences.

This inability to act coherently and consistently re-enforced the belief, especially among the powers that be, that it was worth abusing the system because there would always be a godfather to give a helping hand. The dividing line between incompetence and corruption became a very fine one.

As general elections get closer more and more corruption charges are likely to surface. Over these last months the Gonzi Administration has been plagued by such accusations. Some such as those at ADT, the Maritime Authority, the Mater Dei Hospital and the Ministry of Health have been proven. Others, such as the transfer of land at Qawra to Maltacom and the persistent overspending on road construction, have been harder to prove. Yet, there is no doubt that Dr Gonzi is on the defence and this web of interests is eating into the legitimacy of his government.

Dr Gonzi's refusal to accept the resignation of a minister who blatantly tried to intervene to protect two of his protégés betrays the extent to which his authority is paralysed. Having defended so many, he cannot afford that anyone of his close aides gets the boot. This would, on the eve of a general election, not only further validate the opposition's claims that corruption in our country is rampant, but would seem to discriminate against whoever is singled out. By his doing, Dr Gonzi has become his own enemy. Over these last few months we have had PBS vs PBS, Mepa vs Mepa. Now we have Gonzi vs Gonzi.

As things stand, he has no way out but to call early elections. He can then promise a fresh start. Hopefully, this time he will mean it and be determined to see it through. His very political survival is now at stake.

Fms18@maltanet.net