Is it really just Franco, or is it a gang attack?

I have just received this by email (name supplied).

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I am not a member of the PN and so do not know exactly what goes on in the corridors at Pieta or elsewhere. I am basing my theory on my personal analysis of the political scenario throughout this legislature.

In these last four years, a number of MPs have on various occasions aired their disgruntlement and some of them also threatened to vote against or abstain in parliamentary votes.

The list includes Jean Pierre Farrugia, Robert Arrigo, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Jesmond Mugliett, John Dalli (in and out of parliament) and from outside Robert Musumeci. They all acted on their own, each taking on a controversy, one at a time and well spaced from each other, but close enough to keep Gonzi looking over his shoulder.

They all feel comfortable on the studio set of One TV. I do not need to go into details as I am sure you are well versed on the controversies.

With each controversy, they have all withdrawn their threat after explanations were provided or compromises found.

John Dalli merits to be treated on his own. Having failed to gain the leadership (and for this I am thankful to the party delegates) he has been openly criticising the PM and the government on all fronts, going to the extreme of declaring that he was made a prisoner in Brussels.

2011 was a bad year for him; he managed to embarrass himself with a couple of statements he made, lost his friend Gaddafi and then there was the Sargas saga.

Fast forward to the current debate.

This week, Debono also said that if Labour presents a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister, he would “definitely vote with the Opposition”. The motion speaks of the government, not the prime minister.

In comments to MaltaToday, Franco Debono said he would not be supporting the government in any votes, including a prospective money bill – the Budget Measures Implementation Bill.

As you said in one of your posts, Franco is a lawyer and every word he says counts. So the implication is clear, his aim is Gonzi and not the government.

Many things have been said about Franco Debono, his mental state, his school report, the list is infinite. In all of this, Jeffrey, Jesmond, Robert Musumeci and to an extent Robert Arrigo (in his article in The Malta Independent) have all said that an election is inevitable.

I have not found any statement by Jean Pierre Farrugia. All of them (except John Dalli, as far as I know) have also come out in defence of Franco, not for his actions, but for the way he is being mal/treated in the press, on the internet etc.

Is this merely a coincidence or is it an orchestrated move by a ‘xibka tal-hazen’ (to use Franco’s own words) to overthrow Gonzi as PM and party leader a year before the actual election date, and if that fails (as seems likely), force an immediate election which Labour will definitely win?

A highly dejected and weakened Gonzi will then resign as leader and their man will enter the race to take over. If he is successful, this ‘xibka tal-hazen’ will then have five years to regroup and take over the various functions within the party.

Is Franco Debono really on his own in this debacle?

Where does John Dalli come into all of this? Party leader in the waiting.

The final straw could have been the latest Sargas farce. With the possible commission for John Dalli & Associates rent to pieces, he decided that Gonzi had to go.

By helping to elect Joe Muscat as prime minister, Dalli’s piece of the pie might yet come through, and maybe some of the above would be beneficiaries as well in some way or another.

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My view is that Franco Debono is acting alone, but that others are making a concerted effort to take advantage of the situation. We’ll see what John Dalli says at his press conference on Monday morning.