And not before time, either
I can’t help thinking that most Nationalist MPs (and probably the others, too) were glued to the television last Thursday night, watching their former leader speak on Bondi+.
I link their sudden major shift in attitude (see below) to the all-out hasla he gave them on the subject of playing with the team, political disloyalty, lack of discipline, and loyalty to your leader and the whip. If you’re an independent MP, he more or less said, do what you like and say what you like.
But if you’ve been accepted to stand on the party ticket, and have been elected on that party ticket, you have undertaken to play with the team. So do that – play with the team.
He also said that, faced with an MP who went behind his back, behind the party’s back, and sprang a private member’s bill on the House, regardless what that private member’s bill might have been about (it’s irrelevant), he would not have behaved “qisu ma gara xejn” (as though nothing untoward had happened).
Well, that certainly focused their minds. Perhaps now they’ll stop behaving like recalcitrant teenagers and act like men instead.
The Times reports today:
Nationalist MPs turn their backs on Franco Debono
by Matthew Xuereb
Most members of the Nationalist Party parliamentary group disagree with the way their colleague Franco Debono decided to voice his concern on the public transport saga.
Most Nationalist MPs contacted yesterday said Transport Minister Austin Gatt had their backing and support because he had a track record of delivering.
They said Dr Gatt was the kind of person that public transport provider Arriva needed “to deliver what it promised”.
The MPs, who preferred not to be quoted by name “not to stir more trouble”, said that, rather than resigning, Dr Gatt should continue working hard to put pressure on Arriva to deliver.
Dr Debono threatened to abstain in a forthcoming parliamentary vote on a Labour motion calling for Dr Gatt’s resignation. No date has yet been set for the motion to be debated in Parliament.
Dr Debono said accountability was an essential element of democracy that was “seriously lacking in the country” and that he had long been saying it had to be strengthened.
“If the minister responsible for public transport reform is not going to shoulder political responsibility and do the honourable thing, I will be abstaining in the vote on the motion in Parliament,” he said.
Dr Gatt said everybody was free to act according to their own conscience.
Nationalist parliamentary group members said they were unhappy with the service, as were their constituents, but this did not mean the minister responsible for the reform had to go. “We should all put our heads together to find a solution. Insisting on a resign-ation will not solve anything,” one MP said.
Another said he stood four-square behind Dr Gatt. “I have absolutely no doubt that (Dr Gatt) will assume political responsibility for this. But political responsibility does not mean pack up and leave. If he resigns he will be shying away from his political responsibility.”
He continued: “Franco Debono should just shut up and work in his party ’s interests. If he has any ideas on how to improve the situation, then he should share them. Otherwise, nothing is going to change. I think we are not appreciating the big leap that we made; there were just more teething problems than were expected. Time will tell.”
Another MP said he “absolutely disagreed ” with the way Dr Debono decided to express his frustration on the public transport service. “People are inconven-ienced. I’m not denying that. But the onus is on Arriva and Dr Gatt has the right characteristics to make sure it delivers the service it promised us. Resigning shouldn’t even have come into it in the first place,” he insisted.
While saying that what Dr Debono decided was “his prerogative”, an MP insisted “it is whoever does not want to form part of a team who should resign”.
“If we are playing football and one player decides to run towards my own goal and score then I will be the first one who won’t want him there. You’re either part of the team or else leave,” he said.
MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando insisted on going on the record, saying he would give his input on the public transport reform when the matter was debated in Parliament.
He refused to comment on Dr Debono’s decision to possibly abstain, saying he “will not pass judgment on my colleagues”.
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In principle the team analogy makes sense yet when the prime minister and core ministers start making mistakes it’s also expected that you get individuals starting acting as such and independently.
It’s not right yet it’s bound to happen and it will get worse when we have 3 or 4 MPs interested in the party leadership to replace Gonzi.
[Daphne – I don’t agree, JPS. Recent leadership elections in both parties show that it’s the candidate who was most supportive of, and cooperative with, his predecessor who is preferred by those who vote for the new leader. That’s why George Abela and John Dalli didn’t stand a chance, and why Lawrence Gonzi and Joseph Muscat were elected. Dr Gonzi’s chosen successor will undoubtedly be somebody who has shown him loyalty and respected, and who supported him. Causing trouble for your party leader and by dint of that, the government, is judged to evidence of unsound character.]
@JPS: You say that “we have 3 or 4 MPs interested in the party leadership to replace Gonzi”.
Do we? If so, please say who they are.
Causing trouble to the government, to the party in government and to the PM, not for a valid reason of serious public concern, does not put one in the running for the party leadership. It might, however, put one in the running for The Skip.
Of course there are MPs interested in replacing Gonzi. It’s normal. Or did you think his term in office runs to eternity?
As long as their Maltese brain does not confuse “interested in replacing” with “working to undermine”, there shouldn’t be any problem.
Indeed, PN’s greatest weakness is the “GonziPN” identification.
I bet they wish they’d never come up with it.
It conveys the message that the leader is the party and that he is irreplaceable. “Being interested” then becomes an act of treason.
I’ll bet my last dime that it won’t be long before J.P.O. joins in with Dr. Debono. He won’t miss a chance to shower us with his intelligence.
Did Borg Olivier choose his successor as well? Sorry I’m too young to remember.
[Daphne – No. Nor did Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici.]
I wonder who these 3 or 4 MPs are.
They certainly are not to be found within the ranks of those who used political blackmail lightly and for their own selfish interests.
These latter MPs are political have-beens as far as the PN is concerned.
Some of them might just make it to the PL’s skip.
Not too sure about your conclusion, Daphne. Remember Mintoff v Paul Boffa? Churchill v both Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain?
[Daphne – I said ‘recent’. Times change. Hence the time-frame of the cases you quoted. Things are looked at differently now.]
‘The Times’ report above quotes the Hon Franco Debono as saying that “accountability was an essential element of democracy that was “seriously lacking in the country” and that he had long been saying it had to be strengthened”.
I agree with the honourable gentleman that accountability is an essential element of democracy.
However as much as he claims that Minister Gatt should shoulder what he refers to as “political responsibility”, is he (the honourable gentleman) not accountable to those voters who elected him and who are up in arms against his actions?
Is he not accountable to the party on whose ticket he was elected to Parliament?
Is the honourable gentleman ethically correct in trying to commit auto goals?
Has he not learnt anything when accompanying the PM in the USA recently?
Or is the honourable gentleman more interested in seeing his face splashed on the news media and on Facebook?
His constituents and PN electors are saying that he is NOT a worthy substitute for the gentlemen and lady who used to be elected on the PN ticket in his district.
In an interview he gave Chiara Bonello in October 2010 (www.francodebono.info) he said that “my loyalty to the party is not only unconditional, but also unconditioned”. Did he mean it when he said it?
And, if he did, does he still feel the same?
I, for one, do not think that he does. But Franco Debono is an “honourable” man. He told us as much.
The need for loyalty was best put by Francis Zammit Dimech in his speech in the latest PN General Council. In an obvious reference to JPO, he concluded his speech with a call for loyalty to the party, not when it is convenient or when it suits the individual, but always and in every circumstance, no matter what.
Coming from Dr. Zammit Dimech, it had even more impact.
In spite of his disappointment at not being made minister, he remained fully loyal to the party and party leader. He continued his political activity in the interest of the Nationalist Party and of the country.
Is there any way of uploading that section of the speech?
Maybe the likes of Franco Debono can play it over and over again until they finally understand what being a team player in a political party is all about.
I would like to have all our prospective MPs grilled by their party people and outsiders, come next election.
Some typical questions:
Are you single, married, separated, cohabiting or divorced? Why?
Are you in favour of gay marriage?
Are you a member of some society, secret or otherwise?
What brings you into politics with this party?
Are you an atheist ?
Are you in favour of abortion?
What do you think about the EU: positives and negatives?
Where you ever involved in corruption?
Apart from being a doctor, architect, or lawyer, do you deal in the property market?
What assets does your family have and how were they obtained?
How come you are often seen with that particular person?
On FB you once stated (….). Can you explain?
Hobbies?
Have you ever worked, lived or studied abroad? For how long and where?
Are you in favour of a property tax?
Can you please tell us more about that article you wrote for (…) on (…), in which you said that boat-people should be sent right back without being allowed to request asylum?
Are you in favour of multiculturism?
What languages do you speak?
Tell us your favourite joke, please?
What was the last book you read?
Do you play any musical instrument?
Who is your favourite singer or group, and which is your favourite song ?
How can Malta improve its economy?
What are your ambitions?
I totally agree.
Strange though how Dr Debono was singled out. What about that JPO?
These guys need to keep in mind that, as you Daphne pointed out to me, they have some sort of leverage since they hold the balance of power now they might not have such leverage later after the next election.
Yes that’s right, not only might they not even get voted in, but their presence inside or outside parliment might not even be relevant.
So their antics might just get their immature backsides into a lot of trouble.
What’s more, they won’t have anywhere else to go. What would poor old Jeffrey do? He can’t switch to Labour lest he finds the ex waiting for him. And AD would be mad to accept him on their side. He’s voting-booth poison.
I agree.
However I fear that if the answers are analysed and appropriate action taken we will end up with an election without candidates.
Brilliant.
Although I agree to a great extent, some of the questions listed can be deemed discriminatory and if asked, could land the interviewer (the Party) into a great deal of trouble.
But I do share the same feelings – prospective candidates should be screened carefully, and I would even go one step further, they ought to have a ‘parrinu’, someone who is an existing MP or someone from the Executive Committee.
Even before selecting new candidates the NP should bar any present MP who has given the PM or the party a hard time or went to the Press with a beef without first hashing it out with the PM. There is no room for unreliable and disloyal characters. The only room for them is in Joseph’s skip.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111016/local/Loyalty-to-Constitution-before-party-MP.389284
Franco Debono fails to understand why more and more people are annoyed and even angry at his antics.
The problem is not that he expresses dissent, even if it would be preferable if he were do so within party structures.
The one main weakness of the PN government is that it has just a one-set majority. Debono threatens to abstain on a Parliamentary vote. The problem with his antics is that he uses that weakness specifically to exert pressure and also to attract media attention to himself.
Capitalizing on this weakness is not perceived to be loyalty to the Constitution as he claims but betrayal of the voters who elected him on the ticket of the Nationalist Party.
Just to clarify – the comments made here by one JPS is not me.
[Daphne – I know. I know him. Those are his initials too. He’s not impersonating you, don’t worry.]
Why does Franco Debono always have something to complain about. If he understands the principles behind the reform of Transport Malta he would not behave like a child.
It is Labour supporters who are stirring all this up. I think that he should know better and read reports on the internet about the reasons and principles behind this transport reform.
Search Public Transport Reform in Malta.