Back to square one

Unfortunately the Franco Debono saga has once again come to the forefront in the Maltese political scene. Opinionists all try to write about different subjects every week and not stick to the same topic repeatedly, however Franco's omnipresence makes this close to impossible.

Much as I would like to boycott the man and never mention him again in my column, he keeps turning up like the proverbial bad penny!

We are all accustomed to the fact that the party in opposition constantly draws its attention to failures and faux pas made by government - in fact there is no doubt that the Labour Party is doing a pretty good job reminding us about where the PN has failed to deliver. What we are not used to, however, is PN MPs going out of their way to point out their own side's snafus!

Franco seems to have Malta's legal system at heart and unbelievably he has actually surpassed the Labour Party in his vociferousness when it comes to criticising the local administration. I have absolutely no expertise in the Maltese judicial system, however from what I have gathered throughout the years, we seem to be stuck with a slow, archaic, poorly run Law Court. My impression is that just like Joe Cassar and health, Carm Mifsud Bonnici inherited a gargantuan task.

I have absolutely no idea how much of a good or bad job Carm Mifsud Bonnici was doing, but he was never at the top of the list of people the Labour Party had been complaining about.  Frankly, the way I see it is that if he was not provided with the millions required to employ new judges, build new chambers, digitalise proceedings and modernise our forensics labs and revitalise the police force, then he was fighting a losing battle and his job was doomed from the start.

The fact is that employing new judges or equipping the Law Courts would never have been as sexy as a brand new Renzo Piano parliament building or a bridge across the breakwater! Ultimately, Mifsud Bonnici was hampered by the fact that the PN election team could picture Gonzi opening a new parliament or the new oncology centre before the election, but most likely could not quite figure out how to market a more efficient judiciary. Let's face it, the "Ma GonziPN ma ddumx biex tintbghat sentejn habs!" poster is unlikely to be a vote-catcher at the polls.

Just as I imagine Joe Cassar would have been happy with any PN MP lending a helping hand to improve healthcare, I'm sure Mifsud Bonnici would have appreciated some help too. But by help, I mean cooperation and not confrontation. Being an MP of a party in government is a prime spot for anyone wanting change. These people have a strong voice within the party, have access to legislators and have the ear of the movers and shakers in society. So what on earth was Franco's problem? He can deny he acted out of personal interest until the chickens come home to roost, but nobody will believe him because he has been way to transparent about his real motivations.

What has irked me with this Carm Mifsud Bonnici saga were comments from the government's side accusing PL of political opportunism. Considering that many PL MPs were quasi apologetic towards Mifsud Bonnici during their speeches, this might well be so. However, the fact remains that once a government does not have the full support of the majority of parliamentarians, the opposition is bound to try to bring down the government. Many PN supporters thank God for an egocentric octogenarian in 1998, so how can they blame the PL for thinking Franco is like manna from heaven!

I feel sorry for Mifsud Bonnici. It seems to me that he has ended up as the sacrificial lamb slaughtered on the altar of Franco Debono's megalomania.