In coalition with Franco

As other countries grapple with big questions on the economy and the future of Europe, in Malta a government backbencher is threatening to bring down the government if it does not proceed to separate the home affairs and justice ministries.

Franco Debono makes a lot of sound arguments on the legal system and I fully agree with many of the checks and balances he proposes, including the separation of ministries. It simply does not make sense to have policing and imprisoning people in the hands of the same ministry responsible for ensuring them a fair trial.

But greatness in politics comes with a sense of proportion. Threatening to deny the government of its majority on an issue, which verges on an academic debate, shows that Debono has no sense of proportion.

Probably his antics in the Arriva debate reflected popular sentiment on the public transport reform and the lack of accountability for its shortcomings. 

Debono is not a yes-man, like many MPs, and he deserves credit for that. Yet moving from one controversy to another in a one-man show is not even conducive to a healthy debate on the issues he champions.

That in itself says a lot on the GonziPN strategy whose most perverse result was the toppling of Louis Galea, the mastermind of the social democratisation of the PN in the 1970s and the election of Franco Debono.

Instead of a big debate between ideological currents which led to the great changes in the party in the 1970s and 1980s, discussion in the PN has degenerated into squabbles between a paranoid leadership and a couple of backbenchers.

The Debono episode does expose one thing: that Gonzi's government is essentially a coalition between the PM and single MPs. This is a reality which has debunked the idea that the two-party system necessarily results in stability. 

In fact Debono is behaving worse than formal junior partners in coalitions between different parties in other European countries.

Faced by David Cameron's earth-shattering decision to isolate Britain from Europe, deputy PM Nick Clegg, the leader of Britain's traditionally most Europhile party, expressed his reservations but did not threaten to bring down the government. He knows that to be trusted next time, his party cannot go in history as a coalition wrecker.

And that brings us to the question of the week: will an election be held next March?

If that happens Gonzi will have completely abdicated from his responsibilities in a very difficult international climate.

The government's credibility hinges on the budgetary commitment of securing a 2.3% growth rate, which would enable the government to keep its deficit down. Any election before the government passes that test would smack of failure or opportunism.