On hearing the news that Lawrence Gonzi and wife Kate had decided to pay Franco Debono a visit at his Ghaxaq residence, I wondered whether I should laugh or cry.
The truth is that I had such a big laugh, that soon after I had massive pains right in my abdomen, the area traditionally reserved for six-packs. As I laughed and laughed I am sure there were those who would have cried. If I was a Nationalist diehard I would have cried after having seen my leader stoop so low to negotiate with a rebel.
Gonzi cannot offer Debono a ministry, unless, that is, Gonzi has turned completely mad. But neither can he ignore and sideline him.
I suppose that everyone by now knows that last Monday, Franco Debono was dragged to parliament to vote. And everyone remembers how last Monday, the PM was shitting bricks.
Why Debono did not turn up was officially attributed to Debono feeling unwell. The official ‘Pravda’ version was communicated to the outside world by David Agius, surely the most unimpressive Whip and parliamentarian ever.
Debono was of course in perfect health, and as we all know from the press, his actions were fuelled by something much more sinister than David Agius’s feeble excuse.
Kate Gonzi would not have dragged her husband to Ghaxaq if Gonzi had more than a one-seat majority and was not worrying about Debono getting out of control. If the PN had had a comfortable majority, Kate would have gladly stayed home to finish her mince pies or complete her Christmas stocking, and instructed her husband to take Debono’s neck and wring it at once.
When a Prime Minister is caught being escorted by his wife on film, there can be nothing worse. In people’s eyes, Gonzi is not only very weak: he is effectively pathetic.
As things stand on the Debono issue, I can understand what is happening but cannot tell the full story for now. Kate is so scared of seeing her husband lose his government that she will do anything to ensure that her husband does not leave Castille. If she could, she would glue him to his throne at Castille.
Of course, Kate will not drag her husband to the residences of the backbenchers Robert Arrigo, Ninu Zammit, Censu Galea, Jesmond Mugliett and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. The reason she has not dragged the PM to the beautiful homes of these backbenchers and former ministers is simply because none of them are as big a threat as Franco Debono.
And why does Kate have to get involved? If she really thinks her husband is not up to the job, then I am sure many in the Nationalist party would gladly appoint her leader and Prime Minister. We need a breath of fresh air after all, and what is wrong if Gonzi stays home to bake the mince pies?
Many people are asking if she is overstepping her remit. Many people are asking if the Prime Minister is incapable of tackling such a delicate issue without her involvement.
The answer to these two questions is obvious. Kate Gonzi is a domineering character over a seemingly weak Lawrence Gonzi.
Franco Debono, a star St Aloysius pupil who shared a classroom with Gordon Pisani (the PM’s PRO) and PL leader Joseph Muscat, is renowned for his ability to come up with surprises. At school he was well known for doing the unthinkable, the unpredictable and the unexpected… hence the badmouthing.
Earlier this autumn, Debono erupted like Vesuvius and revealed in a PN parliamentary group meeting Tonio Fenech’s private jet freebie. It was reported in MaltaToday and the news shook the establishment. The story has been repeated over and over again.
But it’s a scandal that in the PM’s eyes is no scandal at all – most especially today, when he has a serious problem keeping his party together. Because Gonzi is in no position to castigate anyone in the party. No way.
Tonio Fenech’s odyssey of f***ups has been blown away thanks to the efforts of State TV and the friendly PN press not to follow this story.
Debono first hit the news big time when he managed to dislodge the old veteran Louis Galea from his parliamentary seat in March 2008. Galea was then a heavyweight, respected for his ‘intelligent’ contribution to the soul of the Nationalist party, but who was, however, seriously tarnished for his ‘scandals’. He raised eyebrows when he administered the infamous Auxiliary Workers’ Scheme in the early 1990s and literally oversaw the unaudited spending spree, running into millions, by some of his closest aides. Other scandals surfaced over the years, including the award of contracts from the Foundation for Tomorrow’s schools to individuals in his constituency.
When Debono was elected in his constituency, the electors were effectively calling out for a new person to represent them. But they were also reacting to the treats offered to them by Debono in his extravagant election campaign. Little did they know that Debono meant nothing to the party and that he was simply pushed like any other name by the likes of Joe Saliba, the PN’s former secretary-general, who now offers his services to open doors and pull down walls and who has contributed to this minestra in the PN.
No sooner had Debono taken over the crown of his constituency than rumours and a whispering campaign engineered by a hardcore Nationalists started to rubbish his image. And the Nationalist party machine has a very effective whispering campaign. Debono was described as a young lawyer who was ambitious and who had come from nowhere.
But no one seems to have asked the most pertinent questions related to Debono’s success:
(1) That Gonzi launched his 2008 election campaign based on the premise that the success of the party was linked to his own image known as GonziPN, which obviously led to many of the established heavyweights losing out on votes. The gains were the new faces.
(2) In the last general election, PN voters wanted to protest with their vote, and hence the success of younger candidates who ‘supposedly’ could offer a breath of fresh air.
(3) Franco Debono took advantage, big time, of the ‘nepotistic’ electoral system to garner votes.
Debono is probably no saint, but neither are the other parliamentarians. The habit of stating that other parliamentarians who came before Debono were upright and intelligent and more worthy of their crown is bullshit. Franco Debono is a product of yesterday’s politicians. The son of a Labourite father and a Nationalist mother, he is someone who looks at politics as a means rather than a mission.
Which is no different to Lawrence and Kate, who worry about Franco only because he could theoretically lead GonziPN out of Castille and take us to general elections. Or perhaps to a reform of the PN? Only if the latter happened, which would then be one good reason to congratulate Franco Debono.
A day to remember
The last person who has a problem with some season’s greetings is myself. Cynical as ever and sceptical about how sincere people are about their feelings, if there is one thing I have learnt in the last two years is the importance of living for today rather than tomorrow and of the extent to which one must trust people.
Christmas is the time people come together and forget their differences and at times forgive. But it is also the time, as the beautiful Sabrina Ferrelli said the other day, to simply have a good time and eat well. It is the time to be thoughtful and think of the people who are overlooked throughout the rest of year.
Christmas is a time to sit down and calmly take stock of the past and look to the future. And not all futures are happy. It is one plagued by the most atrocious and unforgivable water and electricity tariffs, a cost of living that is unbearable, a very much reduced purchasing power, a political instability scaring investors, a preoccupation that our jobs are at risk and a fear of the unknown.
So if you love Christmas, the best thing to do is to have a smashing time, eat well and get sloshed. And for all those who are sick and suffering, a big embrace and a commitment that no matter what, they are in our thoughts and we wish them well!
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.
Search:
MALTATODAY
BUSINESSTODAY
Download MaltaToday Sunday issue front page in pdf file format
