MOCKING DEMOCRACY

The Hon. Dr Franco Debono decided that he had better things to do than attend the PN's Executive, convened to discuss the very situation he himself had conjured up when he declared that he was going to abstain on Labour's opportunistic motion about the buses.

Let's be fair, perhaps Debono had been summoned to Athens to advise the Greek PM. But then again, perhaps not.

In fact, joking apart, whatever the constraints on his time, he was still able to tell timesofmalta.com that "[he] will not be an accomplice with those who will make a mockery of democracy and [he] will abstain." Precisely how anyone, and who, is making a mockery out of democracy isn't immediately clear, but perhaps I am not graced with a stratospheric intellect when it comes to defining democratic principles. I will have to wait for Debono's five-minute speech in the House tomorrow for enlightenment, always assuming he even turns up.

Given his astute grasp of matters democratic, maybe Debono thinks that as he wasn't there, the unanimously-taken decision that PN MPs should vote against the motion doesn't actually apply to him. If he thinks that, then perhaps he should re-visit his own assessment of his intellectual capacities. Whatever, Debono is now perilously close to declaring himself beyond the pale, with all that this might imply for his political future.

He seems to be in a permanent state of hissy-fits, despite having been given perfectly good reasons to reverse his abstention decision and get out of the corner into which he's painted himself. He demanded that someone takes political responsibility: well, it's been taken, once, twice and three times a lady. He, presumably, wants a decent transport system: well, they're doing their level best to provide one, no-one ever said Rome was built in a fortnight. He keeps saying that he has no problem with the Government, well, there you go, mate, it was and remains up to you to come in from a place where it's suddenly going to get rather cold.

So what is it that Debono really wants, now that he's made it clear he's doesn't think his party colleagues are to be taken notice of? Clearly, if he's gunning for someone, it shouldn't take a doctorate in political science to figure it out. When it dawns on you, as it eventually did me, that not many moons ago, he was figuratively frothing at the mouth because people he called "not-yet-approved" candidates were starting to frequent PN clubs as candidates are wont to do, you can put two and two together and watch the penny drop.

I might be wrong, and it would certainly not be the first time, but I know that a person who Debono must be seeing as a rival for district voters' affections works in Minister Gatt's political office, at a very high level. If Gatt is taken out or rendered a lame-duck, his people suffer the same fate, Debono might think, meaning he will ride high in his district in the run-in to the elections. I'm not saying that this is the case, because I'm not in Debono's head, but it's a scenario, you have to admit, especially if you like to concoct political intrigues.

Which would mean, if this is actually the case, and remember I am only speculating, that all this grandstanding has a less than lofty democratic motive after all. You really can't blame Labour's Lil'Elves for having a good laugh, bless'em.