One might expect that the Prime Minister, Lawrence Gonzi, breathed a sigh of deep relief when he read the headline on page 5 of The Sunday Times yesterday – Political turmoil is now a closed chapter, says Debono. Not only the PM would wish that were true. Not a few people are tired of the irascible MP’s shenanigans and endless huffing and puffing.
The latter was not in vain from his standpoint, since he brought down two houses. He ended Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici’s current career as a minister, as the Nationalists callously threw him to the dogs. And he caused the Labour opposition to lose credibility as it scrambled onto his bandwagon to grasp the poisoned gift he gave it to embarrass the government.
But is the political turmoil really over? In its process Dr Debono had lashed out repeatedly at Dr Gonzi for myriad reasons. He attacked him on the way he appointed his government, accusing him of being a pathetic pawn in the hands of a clique. He expressed total lack of confidence in him. He brought Archbishop Mikiel Gonzi into the affair. He said he had resigned from the Nationalist Party and would not be contesting the coming general election.
That and much more, which caused the PM tartly to dismiss him in the House of Representative’s yard as someone who self-evidently could not be trusted. Will Dr Gonzi now trust Dr Debono? Unlikely, though he will not say the door is closed, since the political game has to be played.
It will not have escaped Dr Gonzi’s attention that the MP’s support is not unconditional. Only the naïve would believe that after what has taken place, been said and recorded. And naïve Dr Gonzi sure ain’t. He will have noticed, for instance, that in the report supporting yesterday’s “peace” headline, Dr Debono also declared “it was now time to focus on the reforms in the national interest”.
The reforms the MP was referring to are his own. He has put forward a bundle of proposals which the Prime Minister has up to now studiously ignored, except in the case of hiving the Justice portfolio from Home Affairs. To start implementing them now Dr Gonzi will have to go on a strict diet of humble pie.
A start has already been made. Justice Minister Chris Said was reported as saying that the government would put on Parliament’s agenda Dr Debono’s Private Member’s Bill, instead of its own. That already is quite remarkable.
The government had expert help in recasting Dr Debono’s draft, which was felt to be unsuitable. Political opportunism has now made it suitable.
What does that say of a Prime Minister who claims not to entertain conditions? What else lies in the pipeline? And, with the possibility that the general election can now be held in the spring, will Dr Gonzi continue with the opportunistic absurdity of holding on to the Home portfolio? Does he, or does he not want to be focused on the pressing demands on his prime-ministerial time?
And what happens if the PM decides to give the Home ministry to someone else? It is most unlikely that “someone else” will be Dr Debono, so how will he react to the move? And if the Prime Minister does not make the move, does not that confirm his hands are still tied by the manoeuvring MP?
More questions could be added. But the most important question of all is, has the affair really ended so that the government can focus on pressing national matters, including the new recession?