Caught in a political no man’s land

The political impasse between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and three of his government MPs has now reached the proverbial point of no return.

Evidence for this includes the remarkable climb-down we witnessed in the space of just a few days between Sunday and Thursday this week. On Sunday, a defiant Lawrence Gonzi hinted ominously that the three 'rebel' Nationalist MPs - Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Franco Debono and Jesmond Mugliett - were to face further disciplinary action by the party, after they 'undermined' their own government by supporting (to different degrees) motions put forward by the Opposition.

As all three MPs had previously been subject to a 'condemnation' by the Nationalist Party executive, any additional 'disciplinary action' of the kind alluded to by Gonzi would surely have to consist in something more severe than that already meted by the party machinery.

However, the prime minister's tone on that occasion would contrast very sharply with that of a statement issued by the Nationalist Party just four days later - significantly, the day after Pullicino Orlando bluntly reminded his party leader that any decision to expel him from the PN (as he himself evidently interpreted Gonzi's threat) would bring about an automatic early election.

The following day, 'top PN sources' were quoted as saying that "the party machine has absolutely no intention of throwing [the rebels] out of the party, and never had any such idea". The same sources added that "there were other ways to get the message across"... but seeing as this 'message' had already been conveyed by means of the party condemnation, it remains unclear what was intended by that latter remark.

In any case, the stark contrast between these two images alone - on one hand, the determined posture struck by Gonzi last Sunday; and on the other, the sheepish, almost conciliatory retraction by his party later in the same week - is itself an embodiment of the paralysis now affecting government at all levels.

It is almost as though Gonzi's administration is progressing (if such is the correct word, given the circumstances) only in a series of contradictions: making bold assertions one day, only to scale them down the next, in the political equivalent of constantly taking one step forward and two steps back. 

On one thing, however, Gonzi is entirely correct (perhaps unsurprisingly, seeing as he was indirectly quoting Sir Isaac Newton's first law of motion at the time). To every action there is indeed a reaction - and this certainly applies to the actions of Debono, Pullicino Orlando and Mugliett: who will surely by now have realised that their 'revolt' has reached the end of its elastic, and can now conclude only in one of two ways - either with a bang, or a whimper.

But the same observation holds equally true for Lawrence Gonzi and the government as a whole. Regardless of how the PN chooses to 'discipline' its own members, the paralysis affecting the present government will invariably entail serious consequences, not least for the economy. Finance Minister Tonio Fenech himself hinted as much, when he told our sister newspaper Illum that he was 'frustrated' to see what he described as the good work done by his government undone by the Nationalist Party's inability to resolve its own internal feuds.

His is not the only frustration: the entire country is likewise frustrated, with business grinding almost to a complete standstill, as the major players in the economy wait to see how the political impasse may unfold in the coming days, weeks and months... with all the stagnation this implies. 

This is nothing more than the direct consequence of the prime minister's failure to acknowledge that the present political scenario is simply no longer tenable, or even tolerable. Truth be told, ever since last December the entire country has been hamstrung: for almost six whole months its parliament studiously avoided taking any vote at all, lest it exposes its lack of a clear majority in the House... postponing even the all-important budgetary implementation bill until almost the very latest date permitted by law.

Within a few weeks of that vote, we found ourselves all the way back at square one: with government losing two parliamentary votes in quick succession, both of which costing it dearly in terms of two high-level resignations.

Faced with all the resulting uncertainty - an uncertainty which can only be expected to grow exponentially in the near future, as parliament is due to enter its last summer recess before what might very well be an early election - it is inevitable that businesses will likewise delay taking their own crucial decisions... with consequences that could well be dire, given the international situation.

Gonzi can always carry on trying to pin the blame for this state of affairs on the three rebels themselves... but his attempts will now come across as rather hollow, seeing as he evidently lacks the courage to match his tough words with the corresponding action.

At the end of the day there is only one thing that can possibly bring an end to the present uncertainty; and with it, the incalculable harm it is causing to our economy. Needless to add, it is not a continuation of the status quo.