JG Vassallo | Wednesday, 15 October 2008

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

The Gonzi Inheritance

Enough time has passed for an assessment of the transition from the Fenech Adami ‘regime’ to Lawrence Gonzi in the national cockpit.
Gonzi took formal control of the Prime Minister’s Office in March 2003. His overall performance has brought to the surface a climate of doubt well beyond those with an appetite for moderate intellectual exertion.
When the Nationalist Party disposed of the long delayed issue of leadership succession by appointing Lawrence Gonzi, many aspired to a new beginning and some sort of break with the past.
Gonzi encouraged these aspirations by promising open government with his own personal stamp. He had a free hand to bring in new blood to a tired administration, and to disengage the party from the policies that had brought disarray to the national finances. These were characterised by a structural deficit and unprecedented national debt.
Gonzi fluffed the opportunity almost from the word go. His precipitous decision to install Fenech Adami as President of the Republic raised immediate doubts across the island and some unrest in the party ranks.
His failure to take the bull by the horns, and impose his imprint as party leader by revitalising the Cabinet and disposing of the dead wood, compounded his self-made predicament and unleashed a wave of doubt that has snowballed ever since.

Unanswered question
Whether this came about as a result of lack of experience in the national cockpit, or whether Gonzi has been under the influence of faceless party oligarchs is still an unanswered question.
Time after time, the government took precipitous decisions in circumstances that were not transparent. The first was the ‘political decision’ to dispose of John Dalli without due public investigation.
Within weeks, he proceeded to Brussels to present to the ECOFIN Council a so-called ‘convergence programme’ without due reference to Parliament or consultation with the social partners.
Since then, there have been zigzags galore, numerous instances of ministerial arrogance and maladministration, and worse. MaltaToday has made a name for itself by providing an unmatched running commentary.
These successive episodes gave substance to a growing wave of doubts. People began to question whether these were gaffes that sprang from inexperience, or whether they represented a deliberate style of management and, if so, what really lies behind it.

Lingering doubts
Is the damage due to indifference, or is it obstinacy that fuels the doubts lurking in the minds of a sizeable segment of the electorate? People are seriously beginning to question whether, in the final analysis, the outlines of PN policy are determined by oligarchs in the holy of holies at Pietà, or around the Cabinet table. These oligarchs are being considered, if not the actual rulers, at least close to those who are.
People who pose these questions feed the lingering doubts as to why the government continues to spend merrily when Malta labours under a structural deficit of long standing, and is burdened by mountainous and rising debts.
Thinking electors find no way of dispelling nagging doubts as to why there is never, never any urge to institute transparent, independent investigations when public opinion is up in arms, following various allegations of corruption, abuse of power, and mismanagement of public funds.
Instead of giving the PN a new look, Gonzi has shown no manifest resolve to rejuvenate the Party and to give it a new sense of purpose.
Gonzi had the option of focusing on the big picture and to chart a course that would have distanced our Island State from the man-made shoals reminiscent of the Fenech Adami administration. It was an opportunity missed in the rapid torrents of transition, The crew in the storm-tossed ship is restless, if not in outright disarray, as the distraught officers try their best to find their bearings.

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below.
Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.