@james – we don’t know if Gonzi has a majority in parliament or not. We haven’t checked recently. We’ll know when they vote on the next bill the government has proposed.

What we DO know is that MUSCAT (or Peppone Farrugia) doesn’t have a majority in parliament. We checked a few days ago. He put forward a motion. It didn’t pass.

Lupin is right Daphne the motion has to have the 35 seat majority that was said before the vote was taken.

It’s not confusing at all.Gonzi does not have a majority in parliament. (even on the streets hehe)

Technically, you’re right, but it’s like Wellington allowing Napoleon to take Waterloo because the real objective was Brussels.

We should have seen it coming. PN never did anything to eradicate the culture of ignorance and hamallagni. It even made the underclass richer and gave them free run of broadcasting. Their dominance has now become absolute. The rationalists, the cultured, the urbane and literate, have been pushed to the margins.

And ignorance, as we all know, favours Labour. This is why Labour wins by default.

Does it really matter Daphne? I believe that had they acted that way, the result would have been much more clear to those who still cannot admit that the Opposition’s motion was unsuccessful.

The fact that the voting ended in a tie, with the speaker then having to cast his vote has created confusion in the minds of those who have no idea what was needed for the motion to be successful ie.35 votes

It is a matter of fact the for Joseph Muscat’s No Confidence vote to go through, he needed 35 votes.

Irrelevant of how many votes against were declared from the PN benches. In fact we were told that the speaker did not even need to vote. He only did so because the voting ended in a tie.

Therefore once Franco Debono in his speech declared that he was going to abstain, all the PN members should have just abstained. Result: 34 in favour, 35 abstains, motion unsuccessful. End of story.

[Daphne – You cannot be serious. The government abstains on a vote of confidence in itself?]

I suspect you’ll have much “nicer” words to say when he becomes PM.

If Gonzi wins this one, he and his team would deserve a special place in history.

I don’t mean to spoil your hopes, but alas the odds against that happening are too great.