In life, all things we cherish must end one day. In politics, this is also reality. People should start to accept change more and also believe in it. There is a prevailing national feeling that it is time to stand up and go. When the time is up, it is really up and it is of no use stretching it further. Now there are two ways to deal with this matter: bow and exit quietly or remain and suffer all the consequences of extra time.
This administration has clearly gone beyond its sell-by date and all it is doing today is stretching the limits of its existence. The writing on the wall is apparently being conveniently interpreted apathetically by the ruling party… especially the Prime Minister. The Nationalist Party gurus and other online apologists may argue that the people gave the PN a mandate to govern till 2013. This is true, to a point, for the people of this so-called “democracy” also gave the Prime Minister and the rest of the parliamentarians power to vote in accordance with their (the people’s) wishes and not to vote according with their (MPs’) conscience.
The Prime Minister’s decision to vote against the Divorce Bill on second reading was a vote of no coincidence. He wanted to vote No from the very beginning. He was just playing for time, just like he is playing for time with his leadership and, ultimately, with that of his party in government. How can you blame all those who are now baying for blood? This was a clear sign that the man at the helm does not give a hoot about what the majority of his people say. Some democracy we have in Malta!
According to his claims, the Prime Minister can always invoke conscience as a polite excuse to get away with murder. I can assure the Prime Minister his devils will just not go away even if he vows for a million times that he is on the right track and that he is doing his job well as Prime Minister. His time is up and he has to go. By not doing so, the Prime Minister will just accumulate more devils around him and around his government. By devils I mean bad deeds and bad luck.
This thing started ever since he took his oath of office right after the 2008 election. It seems that that victory came with a heavy price tag. Time is not just revealing wrinkles on people’s faces as they age but it is also changing people’s thoughts, exposing truths and even revealing new directions.
The Prime Minister’s plate is full. Wherever he turns he finds trouble waiting for him.
The truth is that the honoraria issue has rocked the ground on which the Prime Minister stands while the Divorce Bill has kicked his credentials out of the window. He no longer holds his party together. He is just pretending to do so.
Believe me, this is not some sort of understatement by the undersigned but a verse that one can hear from many Nationalist sympathisers in different corners all over the island. No wonder some well-known former Nationalists have decided to cross over to Labour.
Many of the demons surrounding the Prime Minister and his party are there because it was he who created them in the first place. It is now extremely hard to get rid of them because the clock is ticking faster ahead of the next election. The high cost of living, the ever-increasing price of petrol, diesel and gas plus that of water and electricity have made this government look more like a voracious businessman attacking his market rivals than a king defending and alleviating the problems of his people.
Perhaps the biggest problem of all lies in the heads of those close party loyalists who thought they could have kept on going winning forever without taking into account the ever-changing situations and needs of the Maltese voter.
The Maltese population has been evolving and will continue to evolve from the regular loyal party voter to a determined floating one. Peoples’ beliefs and even loyalties changed in the past and will continue to do so in the future. The party that will understand the needs and fulfil the wants of the people in today’s world will win future elections.
A series of growing national and international problems is just outside the Prime Minister’s door. I wonder which last straw might ultimately break his back.