The only way forward for the government

Nationalist backbencher Franco Debono yesterday again pushed the government to the very edge of the precipice but did not give it the fatal push. He again embarrassed the government when he voted with the opposition in a motion calling for the resignation of Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici. Then, just over an hour later, he declared he would not vote against the government in a confidence motion the Prime Minister moved and which is expected to start being debated on Monday.

What is going on? How can this charade continue?

On the one hand, Dr Debono hits out at his own government insisting it is his right and duty to criticise what he deems to be wrong and insisting on remedial action. But then, when push comes to shove – as in the case of a vote of confidence in the government – he backs out, possibly because he does not want to be seen as the one that brought the government down.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister prefers to continue biding time. His decision yesterday to call for another vote of confidence in the government, as he had done on January 26 and which the government won thanks to the Speaker’s casting vote after Dr Debono had abstained, can only mean that the Nationalist Party is still not ready to face an election at this point in time.

In an editorial on January 27, The Times had commented thus: “There now seems to be only one way forward: an election as soon as possible. After all, a car with a punctured tyre cannot go very far.”

The situation has not changed. If anything, it is only getting worse. The options open to the Prime Minister and the Nationalist Party in power seem to be getting fewer and fewer.

When Dr Debono reacted so badly after the Cabinet reshuffle in early January, the Prime Minister opted to take action that many interpreted as winning time and an attempt to appease Dr Debono and, perhaps, other dissenting elements within the Nationalist parliamentary group that, however, adopt a different modus operandi.

Among the decisions taken by the Prime Minister was the separation of the justice and home affairs portfolios that formed part of a ministry then run by Dr Mifsud Bonnici, against whom Dr Debono waged an all-out war. Dr Mifsud Bonnici ended up with only the home affairs portfolio and was given the additional duties of Leader of the House. He has now resigned as minister but reports yesterday indicated that, should the motion not have passed, he would have resigned as Leader of the House and the Prime Minister would have accepted it. That could have only been another appeasement move.

Bottom line is that Dr Mifsud Bonnici has been sacrificed, as many, even within the PN, thought he would. The opposition did not move any motion calling for his resignation until they realised they could force an issue in Parliament when Dr Debono kept calling for his head.

Instead of tackling the internal problems forcefully and calling the bluff of not just Dr Debono but also of other “silent” dissenters, even, if need be, by calling an early election, the Prime Minister kept hoping against hope that a way out could somehow be found.

It should be clear to him now that that there is no way out. The government may again win the confidence vote in the near future but the only real way out is an election.