Prospects of an early election are diminishing, as rebel MP Franco Debono and the government make strenuous attempts to find common ground, The Sunday Times has learnt.
A respectable result for the PN at the local elections could convince the party to bite the bullet
However, party officials acknowledged that the situation is still fluid, and that next month’s local elections could even have an influence over whether the Prime Minister would opt for an early general election.
Dr Debono has kept a relatively low profile since abstaining in a vote of no-confidence in the government moved by the opposition on January 26, prompting Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to seek re-election as Nationalist Party leader.
Contacted yesterday, Dr Debono said the Prime Minister’s declaration during a conference last Sunday that his government had made mistakes and that he was shouldering responsibility was an “important step in the right direction”.
However, the backbencher would not commit as to whether this was enough to guarantee his support for the remainder of the legislature.
“I can’t comment on that. The situation is still evolving,” he told The Sunday Times.
Dr Debono said he expected a detailed discussion about the state of party financing during the process to reconfirm Dr Gonzi in his post.
He said since this situation was precipitated by his call for radical constitutional reforms, it would be very ironic if the issue of party financing (a law which he drafted) would not figure “prominently” in the forthcoming events.
Insisting that constitutional reforms should have taken place in recent months, instead of wasting time on a useless heavy-fuel power station extension controversy, Dr Debono reiterated that he hoped the Prime Minister was not being held hostage by “some oligarchy or clique” leading to a situation where those who had failed to perform in government had been rewarded.
“Unfortunately, in the current situation it seems like a video game where notwithstanding repeated failures, some have infinite lives while others and their ideas have to survive multiple abortion attempts before their ideas are born.”
Asked whether there was a change in his attitude towards the party, Dr Debono would only say: “Initially the party was shocked and chose the road of confrontation. When it realised that this tactic was backfiring it changed tack... I have been very loyal to the party over the years.”
He declined to comment further.
However, party sources said that since the January 26 vote, both the government and Dr Debono were trying to find more common ground to resolve the political impasse.
“Clearly, Dr Debono realises his political career is over if he pushes the government overboard. Likewise, the government knows it can prolong its life and avoid certain defeat at the polls – for the time being at least – if it seeks to tackle certain issues and in the process placate him.”
Sources said the Nationalist Party was also putting a lot of emphasis on the results of next month’s local council elections which could even determine whether a general election should be held ahead of the 2013 due date. The March local elections are expected to be Dr Gonzi’s first real electoral test after the parliamentary vote of no-confidence and his much-expected re-election as party leader on February 25.
“A respectable result for the PN at the local elections could convince the party to bite the bullet and call an early general election to resolve the uncertainty. A very bad result means we’re going to need to re-group and take stock of the situation.”
A source said that another option could be that the Prime Minister leaves his post before the next election if the PN faces political haemorrhage at the polls next month.
Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday accused the Nationalist Party of wasting time with leadership contests and insisted that calling a general election was the only solution to the uncertainty.
“Following Dr Debono’s most recent parliamentary abstention, the country will keep guessing regarding his next move,” AD chairman Michael Briguglio said.