A strong Prime Minister is, by definition, someone who can count on the support of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives through thick and thin at any moment in time.

When push comes to shove, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do...- Owen Bonnici

The stronger the support is in terms of numbers, the stronger a Prime Minister is. And Malta and Gozo need a strong Prime Minister to steer the vessel through the economic storm around us.

After the events that unfolded recently, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is working by means of what I would describe as a “presumed majority”. The failed GonziPN system has led the Prime Minister into a situation where his position is sustained not by the authority that he is able to master today and every day till the end of the legislature but by the authority he managed to somehow master in the past.

The Prime Minister does not have a mathematical majority because the number of members of Parliament that belong to his group are exactly the same as the number of opposition MPs with another member standing as independent from any of the two blocs.

The reason the Prime Minister still occupies his seat at Castille – to which he is gripping with all his might – is because he unashamedly decided to make full use of the presumed majority he has, putting aside the honest and gentlemanly option of at least, the very least, ascertaining whether the presumed majority is in real fact an actual majority.

Ironically, in the very recent past, Dr Gonzi had correctly said that when something happens in Parliament that might raise doubt as to whether the presumed majority is still a real one – like, for instance, when a government MP votes with the opposition on an ordinary motion – the proper way forward for a Prime Minister is to seek a vote of confidence.

By winning a vote of confidence in that scenario, a Prime Minister at least ascertains that his ability to attract a majority in the House of Representatives is not only presumed but is real. It also follows that, in this manner, a message of relative stability is transmitted, setting the minds of families and business at greater rest that the government is strong and is investing its energy on the main priorities of the country rather than on internal party firefighting.

I am using the word “relative” stability because I genuinely believe that when the infighting becomes the order of the day, firefighting measures can only borrow time. When push comes to shove, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do; in the present circumstances a snap election is the only solution.

At least, when one of his own members abstained on a motion of no confidence in Transport Minister Austin Gatt, Dr Gonzi had the decency to present a motion of confidence, which, effectively, reached the required threshold of 35 votes in favour.

Dr Gonzi repeated this exercise also when one of his own members went as far as to vote against one of the ministers forming part of Cabinet. Once the minister was dispatched from office, Dr Gonzi quickly put forward a motion of confidence, which, again, reached the magic number of 35 votes in favour.

Yet, when one of his own members voted with the opposition and another one abstained on a motion of no confidence in a powerful political appointee, the Prime Minister took back all he had said previously on the need of setting the minds of families and business at rest that the government is on track and refrained from even proposing a vote of confidence.

Faced by an implosion within his own party, Dr Gonzi did not only refrain from doing the honourable thing and go to the polls but he did not even show the most basic level of decency and put his presumed majority to test by asking the House to give him a vote of confidence.

Could it be that the Prime Minister did not table a motion asking for a vote of confidence because the independent member of Parliament, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, refused to guarantee him a yes vote?

If the answer is yes, is it fair and correct that the Prime Minister keeps clutching to his seat at Castille by means of the presumed majority he has during this period of economic uncertainty and challenges?

Through his actions, Dr Gonzi is damaging his reputation by the minute and putting at risk the future of families and businesses. He obviously does not mind running on empty if it means that by doing that the GonziPN clique remains in the corridors of Castille.

Dr Bonnici is the opposition’s spokesman on higher education, the University, research and culture.