A big mess of the government’s own making

Lawrence Gonzi is making one mistake after another. First he refuses to accept Transport Minister Austin Gatt’s offer of resignation and then, immediately after he defends the minister in an opposition motion of no confidence in Dr Gatt, defeated only through the Speaker’s casting vote, he sets up a high-powered task force to take charge of the bus service reform. Not only that, but he appoints himself as leader of the task force. He does this at what is perhaps one of the most sensitive financial times when buffeting winds sweeping across so many countries would suggest that his best place is at the country’s helm all the time, not leading a task force to see how to make sense of a bus service reform. Insisting wrongs are righted is one thing but actually doing it yourself is another.

In a way, this suggests he has full confidence in the work of his Finance Minister but the people will see his move as a clear indication that he is not exactly happy with the way his Transport Minister has been handling the reform. But if this is the case, why did he not accept the offer of resignation in the first place? Simply not to please the opposition? Or because Dr Gatt is indispensable? Whatever the reason, Dr Gonzi is giving the impression that he has been caught in a web of confusion and is acting practically on impulse.

It is hardly the job of the Prime Minister to go into the bus service reform, or, for that matter, into any other reform that can, or should, easily be taken care of by the people sitting in his Cabinet. What are the ministers there for then?

According to a spokesman for the Prime Minister, the task force, which held its first meeting yesterday, is entrusted with making sure there is coordination between “all government resources and players to ensure the public transport reform meets the needs and aspirations of the community”. So, is the Prime Minister or, rather, his spokesman, saying that no measure of coordination can be achieved between the constituent members of the task force without his personal intervention?

The mind simply boggles at the reasoning behind the setting up of the task force, which, by the way, is made up of Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said, the Police Commissioner, the commander of the Armed Forces of Malta, Transport Malta’s chairman, and ...wait for it... yes, the Transport Minister, Dr Gatt. This is really a super, super task force, more suitable to manage a national catastrophe than a reform in public transport.

That Dr Gonzi has now found it necessary to take such a drastic measure suggests that he is fully aware of the widespread national dissatisfaction with the transport arrangements in place and wants to get the reform over and done with in as short a time as possible.

His government cannot afford going into an election campaign with such a huge national outcry over the inadequacies of public transport still remaining unresolved. This is perhaps why the Prime Minister thought he should lead the task force himself, to ensure that the promised reform is finally carried out to the people’s satisfaction, if that can ever be done at all. But, then, even if the task force manages to do so within a reasonable time, there is still a thorn or two in his government’s side. Franco Debono is one of them.