I was present for the Time To Debate at the Intercontinental Hotel and followed, with great interest, the debate between PN leader Lawrence Gonzi and Labour Party leader Joseph Muscat. There were some questions I would have liked to put to Dr Gonzi but, it seems, time was limited. So I will put them here, hoping for answers.

Premise 1: Dr Gonzi is putting great emphasis on the fact that the upcoming PN leadership “contest” will be decided by a secret vote. I have been following politics for nigh on half a century and I know of no election for party leader (or any other party post) which was not decided by a secret vote.

Question 1: Why is Dr Gonzi making so much of the fact that this vote will be “secret”? Is he, perhaps, sending somebody a message? Or, perhaps, laying the ground for some anticipated upset?

Premise 2: Contesting the post of party leader is not an easy decision for any politician. It is usually a once-in-a-lifetime, do-or-die effort which, if unsuccessful, could blight a promising career forever. So they will not take that step unless there is a reasonable possibility of success. And two of the basic requisites are a level playing field, where they compete on equal terms and, very important, are assured that the contest is run by an impartial body. The fact that Dr Gonzi has not resigned and is running as the incumbent means that neither of these prerequisites is present.

Question 2: Would Dr Gonzi not agree that the fact that he did not resign in anticipation of the leadership contest ensure that he would run alone? Would he not agree that, rather than a leadership contest, he is simply seeking from the party, that which he failed to get in Parliament - a vote of confidence?

Premise 3: When, in 2008, the (M)LP was electing a new leader, the PN ran a very vociferous campaign arguing that, since the person elected was a potential Prime Minister, the decision was too important to be left to the delegates of the general conference and all members of the party should have a vote.

Question 3: Does not the same logic apply now, even more strongly, since the person “elected” in the PN leadership race will not be a potential but an actual Prime Minister? Is the PN planning to open the vote to all party members and not just the members of the general council? If not, why not?

Premise 4: Our democratic system ensures that whoever becomes PM and governs the country is, first of all, elected according to the Constitution and, secondly, has the backing of a majority of MPs, themselves elected in a similar way. The Constitution provides for an impartial Electoral Commission which runs such elections and sees that the people’s will is truly reflected in the results. We now have an anomalous situation where a Prime Minister who, prima facie, has lost his majority in Parliament, is seeking to re-establish it not through a transparent election with constitutional safeguards but through an internal party election or vote. Who will run this vote, and how, are not matters which the man in the street can check and verify.

Question 4: Would Dr Gonzi not agree that an internal party vote offers no guarantee of transparency and impartiality? Does he feel that this is a satisfactory way of confirming his credentials as Prime Minister? Is the PN ready to set the people’s mind at rest by entrusting this vote to the Electoral Commission or a sub-committee chosen by the Electoral Commission and answerable to it?

I trust – for the health of democracy in Malta – that satisfactory answers to these questions are forthcoming.