Lawrence Gonzi's decision to nominate George Abela to the post of President can be viewed as a brilliant strategic move and as an attempt to overcome deeply-entrenched partisan division. Foregoing the possibility of having true blue Louis Galea, the amiable Joe Borg, or old faithful Giovanna Debono, and elevating someone outside the Nationalist fold to the presidency, is a step away from the 'two tribes' mentality. It's also a move which makes the Prime Minister appear to be magnanimous and removed from the pettiness of political bickering.

Choosing Abela as president could also have had the added benefit (for the Nationalists) of making the opposition look rather churlish, had Joseph Muscat not lobbed that particular political grenade back over the net, and supported the nomination.

With the Prime Minister riding high on a wave of positive publicity and the prospect of a less divided country, it should have been smiles all round, especially in the Nationalist camp.

So I was quite surprised to find that it was not so. On Monday morning, when the nomination was official and Nationalists should have been patting themselves on the back, there were some glum faces in the coffee-shops. "With so many Nationalists to choose from, why did Gonzi have to choose someone from the other party?" went one complaint. "The Labour Party would never nominate a Nationalist" went another "It's better to take care of your own." I shook my head in disbelief.

Even if you had to dismiss the welcome prospect of a popular president who could unite the nation, you'd have to have a poor grasp of political strategy to ignore the boost the decision has given the Prime Minister. He has emerged as a shrewd politician, who can come out with unexpected moves to distract people from other issues which have featured high on their complaints list. The talk on the street is no longer about the hike in water and electricity bills and how we're going to wrap up in flannelette pyjamas instead of switching on heaters. The presidency and the discarded hopefuls are the topics of the day.

The Prime Minister's choice - apparently reached without any form of consultation with his parliamentary colleagues - also serves to consolidate the image of a decisive politician. Prior to the election, the prime minister did not hesitate to offload or dissociate himself from certain ministers who were thought to contaminate the Gonzi PN brand. Now, the Prime Minister has been equally quick to come to a decision on his own - increasing his personal stature and lending an aura of credibility to the party, but leaving others fuming. Presumably, it is this which led to the dissent expressed by some members of the Nationalist Party group to the nomination.

We read that Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, was - for once - taking the same stance as Alfred Sant, in opposing the nomination. While the former Labour leader is doing a Margaret Thatcher to Muscat's John Major, and refusing to ride away into the sunset, JPO - holder of that all-important seat which tips the parliamentary majority in favour of the PN - might be giving out clear warnings that he is still a political force to be reckoned with.

Other Nationalist MPs are miffed - ostensibly at not having been informed of the Prime Minister's decision and finding out about it from the papers. Ex-minister Francis Zammit Dimech said "the group did not meet to analyse the newspapers".

It is unlikely that these resentful rumblings should result in a vote against the nomination in parliament. However they are indicative of how far we are from approaching any form of consensual politics. Whenever an attempt is made to break away from the usual adversarial mode of doing things, it is greeted with hostility, even if it should be a clever move which is of benefit to the party which made it.

While Labour die-hards continue to regard Abela's nomination with suspicion, the old Nationalist guard is smarting over the decision and wondering whatever happened to the usual way of doing things. Their attitudes smack of bitterness - an extremely unattractive quality which both would do well to put aside to welcome the new president.

The eccentric Czech artist David Cerny has pulled a fast one on all those stuffy EU wonks who take themselves and art so seriously. Cerny was commissioned to create a sculpture representing the member states of the Union to be set up outside the Justus Lipsius Building in Brussels.

He had to collaborate with 27 artists coming from each state and received $606,000 for carrying out the work. When the eight-tonne mosaic was unveiled, it drew applause, but also some horrified gasps. That's because every nation was represented by means of a stereotypical image, with political correctness being ditched completely.

So Italy is a soccer field, complete with tiny players getting randy with their balls, Romania is a Dracula theme park and Bulgaria is depicted as a Turkish-style toilet. The Bulgarians made an official complaint about this last image, and David Cerny owned up to having made the work himself - the artists cited as having collaborated on the project were all fictitious people.

He is to return the payment forwarded to him. There were disapproving looks and much hand-wringing about the sorry state of art and how disrespectful it all was. Despite the sniffiness of officialdom people are flocking to see the Entropa installation. It has managed to attract some interest to the bland capital of EU bureaucracy. It's the best publicity money can buy.

Cerny has created more than a work of art. He's managed to make us think of Brussels and smile. That's quite an achievement.

cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt