Nationalist dissenter Franco Debono is proud his actions led Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to admit his party needed to listen to the people and he would now see how these issues will be tackled.
He Prime Minister has realised that things needed to be changed
“Now that the Prime Minister has realised that things needed to be changed, we have to see what remedies will be put in place to tackle issues of networks and oligarchies,” he said when contacted.
Dr Debono said his actions had “shaken the party” and it was only thanks to him that the PN had been brought to its senses, making it realise that it had to be closer to the people and listen to their sufferings.
It was Dr Debono who forced Dr Gonzi into calling a leadership election after abstaining in a parliamentary vote of no confidence moved by the opposition last month.
The election – for which Dr Gonzi stood uncontested – was also held to rally support with commentators arguing this would put pressure on Dr Debono to fall in line and toe the line.
But Dr Debono insists: “It’s not I who has to fall in line because they seem to be falling in line with what I am saying and with the issues I have been raising.”
Out of the 899 party delegates, 48 did not vote for Dr Gonzi, either by voting no, not voting, invalidating their vote or not collecting their voting documents. While congratulating Dr Gonzi on this “obvious” result, Dr Debono pointed out that one out of every 20 PN councillors did not approve of Dr Gonzi as party leader.
He said Dr Gonzi’s speech at the special general council meeting yesterday showed that the Prime Minister acknowledged the relevance and validity of his arguments and criticism “for which I had to make a lot of personal sacrifice”.
“The declarations made yesterday morning would be meaningless if the issues of political responsibility, oligarchy and constitutional reforms dealing with the distribution of power among institutions are not urgently tackled,” he said.