A very dangerous man playing a very dirty game.

How was the back bench rebellion self-inflicted? You can hold a prime minister responsible for many things. Defective personalities. self-centredness and immaturity of back benchers are not among them.

A very good interpretation, Daphne, of what we witnessed both in the 30s-90s and the immediate past.

[Daphne – I think it’s probably because it will turn into a mini election campaign, with the same difficult dynamics. You can campaign directly with councillors, but you can’t reach members individually.]

Councillors usually vote according to the wishes of the powers that be. I have asked a few questions and have been told that many councillors are loyal to Gonzi because that have been appointed by him and his people.

I completely agree with you on the relationship between Eddie and Guido, but as you said they never even thought about knifing each other. That is what I wish to happen in this leadership election. At the end of the day, I would like the very best to work together for the good of the country. The different factions should work together.

[Daphne – Yes, indeed. It’s so obvious that many of them don’t have that discipline. The individualistic, egotistical streaks come right out. Me me me me and me again.]

This did not happen in 2004 and look what happened to the Nationalist Party.

Yes, I agree with you that jumping ship and switching to Labour is no solution.

I had told JPO, etc on blogs and Facebook to contest against Gonzi when there was a leadership election last February. They obviously did not do so. Rather than changing things from within, they found it easier to continue causing harm to the country and eventually to switch to PL.

[Daphne – That’s because it was all about them and still is, so expect no better.]

In Malta we manage to be religious while at the same time having the ethics of sewer rats ( sorry guys – the rats of course )

Let us begin with the Leadership election. Is it correct for the party councillors alone to elect the party leader? I do not think so and I am going to say why.

If the clique appointed councillors are going to elect the next leader, the next PN leader is going to be appointed by the clique and there will be no real change in the Nationalist Party.

[Daphne – I don’t agree, Joseph. Are you calling PN councillors members of a clique, or are you saying that they can’t think for themselves and will be subject to the will of this clique even though the vote is by secret ballot?]

Therefore, it is better to open the election to all members, so that everyone will have an equal chance.

I also believe that Simon, Beppe and Mario are all valid leadership contenders, and whoever loses should shake hands with the winner and contest for the other leadership posts.

If this does not happen, the Party will continue to be controlled by the clique and there will be different factions in the Party.

This will mean that the PN will remain in opposition for a very very long time.

Come on, let us do as Eddie and Guido did in 1977: working together for the good of the Party!

[Daphne – There are always going to be factions. There are factions even in the Labour Party. The issue is one of loyalty and of esprit de corps, both of which are sadly lacking. There was no love lost between de Marco and Fenech Adami, but they didn’t set about knifing each other and de Marco had the intelligence to know that you don’t sink the ship on which you’re sailing. Sadly, others today don’t think that way, and some of them have thought nothing of sinking the ship on which they sailed because the option which de Marco would never have considered – jumping ship to Labour – is fine with them.]

I think the combination of being in opposition for 15 years straight, but in reality for 25 years, having a half-decent leader, and Gonzi mismanaging the self-inflicted backbench rebellion have led to a defeat of such magnitude, that intelligent people such as the author of this piece are trying to justify such a loss by inventing outlandish stories.

The government = the working class = the Maltese people. In religious terms this translates into: Jesus Christ = the Catholic Church = the People of God (both saints and sinners, rich and poor, etc).

The difference between the two is that whereas religion applies to the realms of belief and ethics (which one is free to uphold or refute), in politics anyone refuting the equation has to face concrete economic and social consequences in his/her everyday life.

Very true. Nw try convincing the plebs about that,