Under GonziPN the election date proper has become almost irrelevant. Thanks to his highly charged political speech on a day of political “unity” – Independence Day – the country has been in an election mode since September 2011.

It is ironic that Gonzi seems to have chosen as his chief electoral strategist a minister who is the undoing of GonziPN itself- Leo Brincat

In January he had declared publicly that he was ready to resign if this would save the country. Yet only weeks ago he dismissed any hint that he would ever consider such a move – even after the next election.

The more he speaks of the national interest the more it becomes strikingly evident that he has purely partisan party interests at heart. There might have been a time when his party used to rest on its laurels.

Now, given its dismal track record, its sole purpose is that of trying to portray the PL as a worse lot than Gonzi’s own jaded team.

Media-wise his gurus have moved from mere spin doctoring to downright political lies (see their claim that the PL would abolish the cost of living increase mechanism and/or reduce/slash stipends). Personal below-the-belt attacks have been stepped up by bloggers whom party officials defend under the pretext of respect for freedom of expression (see a recent statement by PN President Marthese Portelli).

And negativism has reached such a nadir that even die-hard Nationalists are realising that this is nothing but a feeble excuse to deflect attention away from the fact that the PN would rather indulge in muckraking than a level-headed discussion about their current plans and future strategies.

While doing their best to rubbish the PL’s roadmap, most PN policies have still to be translated into an effective action plan. In the energy sector we do not even have a formal policy yet.

It is rather ironic that Gonzi seems to have chosen as his chief electoral strategist a minister who through his repeated gaffes and political arrogance has proven to be the undoing of GonziPN itself, becoming the PL’s not-so-hidden asset. Viz Gonzi’s boast that he wanted Austin Gatt to lead the PN’s election campaign.

One would also have expected far more and better from another strategist who understandably has more time on his hands. Rather than a mere 2008 rehash. I understand that one of his primary tasks is to create a feel-good factor through the media under his influence.

In January the PM had belatedly woken up to the fact that the country needed a government that had to have the courage and humility to listen and implement good ideas. Since then he has merely persisted in stubbornly remaining politically tone deaf.

Now even his special delegate Simon Busuttil seems to be doubting the campaign strategies adopted. Whenever Gonzi made any Cabinet reshuffles even the PN-friendly media owned up to the fact that these were merely attempts to buy peace rather than improve the efficiency of his team. That this peace proved to be short lived is something that everyone could have foreseen except for Gonzi himself. Or rather, so he would have us believe.

He has tried every trick in the book to buy time, from appeasement that was often perceived as weakness to a stubbornness that showed total disregard of any potential or real fallout at the expense of the country’s stability and economic well-being.

The argument that Gonzi has a mandate to govern till the very end holds no water. Every elected government – whether it managed to win by a landslide or the most slender of majorities – always has a mandate to govern. As did the short-lived Alfred Sant Administration. The key issue is whether it will run the whole course in Parliament.

While the power-of-incumbency machine rumbles on (and PN bedfellows like correspondent Berta Sullivan even have the gall to call me racist when they know that a fabricated post on my Facebook had led to my reporting the person responsible to Facebook directly, as can be seen from a mere scroll), instability continues to remain compounded with electoral fatigue.

Party activists on both sides have been on the alert for far too long, while Gonzi has been for months on the receiving end of his own insiders too. By comparison with 1998, this scenario is even more surreal.

While Toni Pellegrini’s ‘sins’ at the helm of State broadcasting cannot be easily forgotten, the present regime at the helm of PBS seems to be doing its best to outsmart him and outclass that era’s excesses. Certain discussion programmes on State TV have almost made Net TV redundant while a number of them seem to be even seeking inspiration from the PN’s main billboard slogans.

The social media leaves much to be desired and more disciplined use of it is needed all round.

While the recent Romney-Obama debate is to be commended for its strong policy focus, no one can deny the deep negativism that has characterised the US campaign so far. I am not surprised that GonziPN are trying to emulate such excesses since they are known to have taken more than a hard look at the American campaign. At least that much have we been told, rightly or wrongly, by PN insiders.

While State TV has failed miserably to ensure the dissemination of truly pluralistic viewpoints, I still believe that interpersonal communication will remain of the essence. But if done only now and not throughout a whole legislature – even that can prove to be counter productive.

Brincat.leo@gmail.com

www.leobrincat.com

Mr Brincat is a member of the Standing Parliamentary Committee on foreign and European affairs.