Time to put all heads together

Having proved in Parliament last week that legally and constitutionally the government has every right to remain in office until the end of this legislature, it was natural that the Nationalist Party would move to demonstrate Lawrence Gonzi remains firmly in command. The parliamentary group and the executive committee have already expressed their full backing for Dr Gonzi.

Dr Gonzi yesterday declared he was willing to put his leadership of the PN to the test by calling for a leadership contest. He did not resign but said he would seek a secret vote to either confirm him as leader or elect somebody else.

That is indeed a wise move though not necessarily bold. At this delicate point it is unlikely that there can be a real leadership contest. And that is not only because we are too close to an election and irreparable damage would be done to the party’s chances of re-election if the leader were to be removed now. More importantly, who will be willing to bell the cat within the bigger picture of the Franco Debono saga?

The party remains in crisis given the uncertainty that continues to surround what Dr Debono will do on the next crucial vote coming up in the House.

There may still be a flicker of hope, on the Nationalist side, that, somehow, things will be patched up with Dr Debono to enable the government to survive the full length of the legislature or at least for the next few months. Dr Gonzi said yesterday that contacts with Dr Debono were still going on.

In a way, the ball is still in Dr Debono’s court.

Having been the main target of Dr Debono’s sharp criticism, Dr Gonzi has told the party’s general council that he shoulders full responsibility for all the decisions taken by the government and is now holding himself fully accountable, to the extent of inviting a replacement for him, to whom he would pledge unconditional loyalty.

Dr Debono ought to give weight to Dr Gonzi’s declaration. Dr Gonzi openly admitted his government had made mistakes. It takes a great man to admit he was wrong and that alone should be enough to make Dr Debono at least open all lines of communication with his leader. Directly, not through intermediaries.

There is no point repeating that if, as is to be expected, nobody steps forward to challenge Dr Gonzi, Dr Debono will become more isolated, not for the valid points he is raising but because of the way he has gone about it. Possibly he believes, mistakenly, that, unless he speaks in terms of threatening to topple his own government, those at the top will not heed what he is saying. His message has now got across.

Today, the Prime Minister attends a crucial EU summit in Brussels intended to bring the proposed fiscal pact another step to fruition and take measures to boost employment among youth. The gravity of the economic crisis facing Europe is cited by the Prime Minister as a reason for avoiding an election at this time. Elections, true, are distracting and disruptive but, in circumstances like those prevailing in Malta now, delaying going to the polls could exacerbate the situation.

The government has a proven track record on the economy, to mention just one sector. It is this, the bigger picture, which Dr Debono appears unable or unwilling to see. Pity, because he is intelligent enough to realise what huge successes the government he forms part of has secured for the country.