Strength of the opposition

Alfred Muscat (Put Up Or Shut Up, March 14) would like me and other pro-Labour correspondents to "shut up" as he so elegantly puts it.

Apparently he does not like to be reminded that the PN has not only lost its overall majority; its relative majority of 0.5 per cent is a numerical accident that is almost insignificant in statistical terms.

Mr Muscat will be sadly disappointed. As the post-election euphoria/depression (depending on your point of view) wears off and the true facts start to sink in, a lot of people are going to have to reappraise their position.

The MLP, once it has set its house in order and chosen its new leader, will realise its own strength. It represents fully half the Maltese population and in Parliament it will be in a minority of only one seat - in a scenario where several disgruntled ex-ministers are already making their displeasure felt. It will have the right and the strength to be heard and to demand fair treatment for all sectors of Maltese society. And it will have the tools to do it, not least being the pairing agreement which is so vital to a government with a majority as slim as the one the PN has.

The PN too will, or should, realise that, as our American friends would say, "It's a whole new ballgame". Gone are the days when Minister Austin Gatt could boast that the government did not really need to go through Parliament as, with the majority the PN had then, it was just a formality (or words to that effect).

The government will need the opposition's cooperation in order to function, and this cooperation will have to be earned.

Dr Gonzi has said that he intends to be a Prime Minister of all the people. He will have an immediate opportunity to show that he means what he says.

On a change of Administration it is the custom for all government appointees on boards, committees, etc to tender their resignation. If Dr Gonzi really has the interest of Maltese society at heart, he should accept these resignations and only fill the vacancies on merit and after consulting the opposition.

If, on the other hand, he chooses to go the old way and keep the same faces in place or appoint new ones without consultation, we will know that it is "business as usual" and the Opposition should use its new-found strength accordingly.