Last Friday I followed the vote on the PL’s motion from a packed strangers’ gallery. There was no surprise when the vote was taken. The abstention, despite the party’s whip, was countered by the Speaker’s casting vote. Meanwhile, some 200 protesters made their way through Republic Street calling for a better bus service.
It is ironic what different fates await the current leaders in Europe. As Maltese MPs debate and bicker over public transport reform, in Greece the embattled Prime Minister George Papandreou survived a no-confidence motion but is now being replaced. With Spain’s unemployment at 23 per cent, Portugal’s unabated shrinking economy, Italy’s debt at 120 per cent of its GDP and Ireland resorting to a rescue bailout, Malta’s woes seem, to say the least, incomparable.
Malta has weathered the crises and while governments in other countries within the eurozone are trimming salaries, benefits and scrapping their electoral pledges to deal with the current onslaught, Lawrence Gonzi’s government is still on track on delivering the electoral manifesto’s promises. In this context, affording a national controversy on the punctuality of our buses is, perhaps, a luxury. I find it comforting to assist to a debate on the public transport reform rather than on the bread and butter issues that other countries are currently dealing with.
So, instead of acknowledging the tough times Europe is facing, the Leader of the Opposition and his party found it appropriate to raise this issue with the sole aim of scoring political points and attempting to embarrass and destabilise the government. To my knowledge, no constructive proposals on how some of the reform’s deficiencies could be rectified have been forthcoming from the PL.
Instances where one party lacks cohesion in Parliament are not common as Maltese MPs tend to toe the party line. When such rare occasions erupt, the nation stops to listen and speculate while the media circus thrives on the chaos. Unsurprisingly the media’s attention during the past week was dominated with stories related to Friday’s vote. Some have speculated that Friday’s might have been the last day of Parliament in this legislature. The common analogy was Alfred Sant’s downfall in 1998.
Dr Gonzi’s handling of the situation was, however ,very different to Dr Sant’s. Prior to the vote in 1998 Dr Sant attempted to deal a blow in Dom Mintoff’s backyard by calling him a traitor – notwithstanding the fact that he had never consulted the former leader on the project at issue. Needless to say, Dr Sant’s tactic misfired completely and he lost the vote of confidence at the hands of his detractor.
Dr Gonzi’s handling of Friday’s vote was different (and wiser). No MP was slandered in public and before the vote was taken the PN’s executive committee was convened three times. Austin Gatt made a thorough presentation and everyone present had the opportunity to quiz his delivery. It is important here to stress that the executive committee, like the public, acknowledged that the public transport reform was not yet delivering the expected level of service. On this point there is universal agreement.
After hours of discussions the party unanimously approved a motion calling on all Nationalist MPs to vote against Labour’s motion. Although the Prime Minister did not tie the motion to a vote of confidence, he asked for one to be taken today. The government came out unscathed from Labour’s motion but unquestionably an assertion on its stability needs to be made. Business as usual needs to resume and party loyalty tested and verified.
What will happen next? In politics it is unwise to predict but if I have to make a prediction I would say that in the next weeks the Labour party will present another motion asking for the resignation of another minister. As long as the Leader of Opposition finds one government backbencher abstaining he will continue with this strategy.
For the Opposition, the dissenter, pundits and key players alike, these are days like no other. The government has been brought to the test on an important, yet not fundamental issue of public concern. The storm has raised the dust but, once this settles, let us get back in focus and continue steering Malta in the difficult times that lie ahead. Indicators show that this has been done successfully up to now. Why change?
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