Whatever it takes! (2)

Before I keep my promise to explain in detail what political measures are needed to give substance to the 'Whatever it takes!' commitment to keep the Euro together, I would wish to comment on a 'Whatever it takes!' with a local flavour.

L'Etat c'est moi!

In Malta there is strong uncertainty about the governability of the country.  Government has lost its one seat majority in parliament when a back-bencher broke off with government ranks and declared himself independent.   Furthermore another rebel back-bencher with a record of voting out of line with government, has openly declared he will not back government in parliament unless a senior Minister is removed from cabinet.

Parliament is closed for summer recess and is due to re-convene on 1st October 2012.  So the crisis is not immediate.  But October will come in less than two months and meantime there is instability as no one knows if government can continue with its legislative mandate until its normal expiry date  i.e. till this time next year.

So all sensible advice in the media, civil society and of course from the Opposition is that the issue should be settled sooner rather than later by holding fresh general elections this autumn and dissolve parliament before it has to re-convene in October.

There is one problem with such sensible advice for government.   Opinion polls shows that it is far behind Labour and that there is every likelihood that if general elections would be held this autumn Labour would have a clear victory with quite a margin and the government will have to cross parliament's floor and sit on the opposition benches in the next legislature.

So whilst there is a chorus of opinion that the national interest demands a political resolution through holding early fresh elections, government continues to argue that the national interest demands that it stays in executive power in spite of the instability it is suffering in parliament. 

Conclusion:  the government, like most politicians who are likely to lose their post will do whatever it takes to stay and hold on to it for as long as it can.  And to hell with the national interest!!

Probably their reasoning is that it is in the national interest for the government to stay in perpetuity and for the opposition to become a perpetual opposition.  Who  had said ' L'Etat c'est moi!' ??