What is Simon Busuttil trying to achieve? How can some fanatical Nationalists be so blind as not to realise that Busuttil is slowly destroying the political party which he previously led? Are these fanatical Nationalists oblivious to the fact that the political strategy they are using will only serve to reduce their once mighty party to the status of an almost irrelevant pressure group?

These are some of the questions being asked at present by the more perceptive observers of the Maltese political scene.

Let us start with Busuttil himself.

It is more than obvious that he has no political future. Even if the Nationalist Party were to suffer a catastrophic defeat at the European Parliament and local council elections next May and even if Adrian Delia were then to be removed as PN leader, do you think that it would be wise to once again place the future of the PN in the hands of Busuttil?

This is what a substantial number of Nationalist supporters are aiming at, particularly the groups organising activities and protests in connection with the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination.

One has to be politically blind and almost masochistic to contemplate such a course of action.

The political incompetence of Busuttil is there for all to see. During his leadership of the PN, not only did he not bridge the gap between the Labour and Nationalist parties but actually increased it. Even during the 2017 electoral campaign, many were immediately aware that the strategy used by the PN, a strategy almost totally based on the fight against government corruption, was flawed and likely to result in a Nationalist defeat.

Yet, Busuttil doggedly pursued this strategy in the face of all criticism. The result was, as expected, disastrous for the PN.

Then came the Egrant fiasco where the result of the magisterial inquiry totally discredited Busuttil. Any other self-respecting politician would have called it a day and retired from the political scene.

Some fanatical Nationalist supporters would still prefer Simon Busuttil as their leader. This is nothing less than stark raving crazy

Not so in the case of Busuttil who even resisted  the PN leader’s request to suspend himself from the PN Parliamentary Group and humiliated him further by forcing Delia to backtrack on his legitimate request. This left the PN broken into two factions, one led by Delia and one led by Busuttil and the cracks in the Nationalist Party were now manifest for all to see.

Still, some fanatical Nationalist supporters would still prefer Busuttil as their leader. This is nothing less than stark raving crazy.

Let us now take a look on the other side of the hill. Perhaps few people actually realise that Busuttil’s faction within the PN has done the Labour Party a sterling service by bringing back within it many who had left it or who were starting to stray away because of disagreements with aspects of its policy.

Busuttil is particularly popular with the groups who organise the activities and protests in connection with the Caruana Galizia assassination. Indeed, it seems that they still regard Busuttil as the PN leader and not Delia. Yet what many of the fanatical Nationalists within these groups fail to grasp is the fact that the farce about Daphne’s memorial in Great Siege Square, Valletta, and the campaign overseas against the Maltese government have served to further unify the Labour Party, enhance the popularity of leader Joseph Muscat, and make many Labourites forget their petty grievances in the light of what is being regarded by many as an anti-Labour campaign mounted by elitist snobs.

Then, of course, one must not forget Delia’s supporters. Delia is very popular among the more moderate PN supporters. So, do you think that Delia’s supporters would stand by and do nothing if he is eventually removed from the from the PN leadership? Of course not.

It would be the beginning of a political civil war within the party. Delia’s supporters are already very angry that the democratic will of the party tesserati (paid-up members) is being ignored by the Busuttil faction. They would surely not submit meekly to their leader’s being removed by some shady political manoeuvring.

To conclude, Busuttil would be well advised to completely retire from the Maltese political scene. He should do so in the best interests of the PN as well as those of Maltese democracy.

By his antics and those of his supporters, what we have is the possibility that this country will soon be reduced to a situation where there is an all-powerful political party in power and a number of weak, ineffectual political parties opposing it.

That would not be in the national interest. What is almost certain is that the Labour Party will remain in power for a long time to come.  

Desmond Zammit Marmarà is a Balzan Labour councillor.

This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece