Gonzi's Hara-kiri

The Prime Minister has voted against a law already approved by 53% of Maltese voters. What does this say about his democratic credentials and ability to lead his party in the forthcoming election?

The Prime Minister had no qualms in defying the will of the majority of voters in order to remain at peace with his own conscience. This shows that his conscience is triggered more by matters of religion than by matters of state. What should prick any politician’s conscience is voting against the popular will, not voting for a law with which one disagrees.

For once one cannot accuse him of being a political Machiavelli as was the case when he secretly signed a pre-electoral deal with the Armier squatters while he was proclaiming his party’s green credentials on the eve of the 2008 elections.

His no vote ultimately damages his credibility among a vast sector of voters who believe that majority rule should have been respected by all MPs irrespective of their views on divorce. It also gives ammunition to the opposition to question his democratic credentials.

Rather than bring closure to an issue, which has created a rift between Nationalist voters, Gonzi has reinforced it. Rather than shifting the political debate to economic matters where his party has a fighting chance, he has kept the focus on his juggling with conscience. In this way instead of exploiting the various contradictions in the Opposition’s populist policies, Gonzi remains in the spotlight. Inevitably this raises questions on whether he is the suitable candidate to lead the PN in the 2013 general election.

For his no vote weakens his stature as a leader of an inclusive party. Had he voted yes after campaigning for a no vote, Gonzi would have sent a strong message of unity, especially towards liberal voters that the PN is still their party. But by voting no, Gonzi has simply confirmed the perception that he is too confessional to be a democrat.

What is most pathetic is Gonzi’s depiction of his vote as being one of conscience.

First of all this was not a decision which had any bearing on anyone’s fundamental human rights. In that case the vote in parliament would have been illegal. It would have been a completely different matter had Gonzi voted against a referendum approving the introduction of the death penalty.

Secondly, an equally conscientious Prime Minister could well have chosen to respect the will of the majority by voting yes despite his personal objections to divorce. In this case the Prime Minister would have justified his decision by arguing that he is more conscientious about democracy than about divorce. Such a conscientious Prime Minister would have felt more troubled by voting against the democratic will than by voting for a law with which he disagreed.

Thirdly, an even more conscientious Prime Minister who could never bring himself to vote for divorce but who still valued majority rule would have resigned from his post and let democracy have its course.  He would have thrown the baby with the bath water but at least he would have given equal weight to his conscience and democratic duties.

Fourth: a PM who opposes divorce to the extent of not bringing himself to vote for it after a referendum should not have been the first person  to propose a referendum on this issue. By hinting at a referendum immediately after Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando dropped his bombshell last year, Gonzi was duty-bound to respect the result.

The fact that the PM had already declared that he would ensure an arithmetic majority in parliament so that divorce passes, diminishes the value of his no vote. In view of this his no vote looks more like a conservative fetish than a vote of principle. For if divorce was such a principle he would have either resigned or did everything in his power to stop it. Instead he voted no while being sure that the bill would pass.

His insistence on voting according to conscience also embarrassed fellow Nationalist MPs who had equally strong reservations on divorce but ultimately gave primacy to the democratic will of the people. Gonzi could have avoided all this on the day the country decided by saying that although he remains adamantly against divorce, he would respect the result of the referendum through his own vote. Ultimately it was only thanks to the vote of some of his colleagues that he was able to keep his conscience clean.

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James, kieku int tkun editur tal-gazzetta u l-employers tieghek, id-diretturi tal-gazzetta, ikunu jriduk tikteb editorjal biex tfahhar u tippromovi xi haga li tmur kompletament kontra l-principji u l-valuri tieghek, x'taghmel? Tiktbu l-editorjal xorta wahda u tmur kontra l-principji tieghek biex toghgob lill-employers? Jew tipprova ssib xi gurnalist minn tieghek li ma jsibx oggezzjoni u tassigura li almenu jikteb artiklu hu halli r-rieda ta' l-employers tieghek issehh? Nitolbok twegibni u tkun onest.
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Skuzuni imma ha jkilli nejda, il vieru mux sew tikteb duk id diskors fuqnet bliswed Gonzi's H*** u mbad linja u kelma ma tiftemx Daw xaffaijiet uma min juf kieku jigu jajru lilek ekk fuq il-gezzetta toqod alijja dik ent Nehhijja minn emm xbin
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TYPO ERR- OH HISTORY HOW YOU BORE ME!!
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THE EURO COLLAPSE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, AS I GIVE IT NO MORE THAN THAT, WILL FOCUS SHARPLY BUT FAR TOO LATE ON TE STAE OF THE ECONOMY. THEN WE WILL ALL HAVE TO ASK WHAT WAS IT EXACTLY WE WERE TAKEN INTO...OR WE TOLD YOU SO. ANYHOW THE ECONOMIC SITUATION OF THIS COUNTRY IS BLEAK TO SAY THE LEST...WILL BRING GONZI CRASHING DOWN THEN!! WHO KNOWS MAYBE A NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES AGAIN, EFA STLE...STILL IT WILL BE LEFT UP TO THE PL TO FILL THE COFFERS AND FOR THE PN TO SQUANDER AGAIN... OH HISTORE, HOW YOU BORE ME!!!
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"Rather than shifting the political debate to economic matters where his party has a fighting chance" Pull the other one, James !!
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Ghax ma tmurx l azzjoni kattolika fejn kont qabel wenz,jew anqas ghal hemm ma kont tajjeb? Ghajat elezzjoni,ghax kulhadd iddejjaq.
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No one can deny that the PM has been consistent throughout. One might not agree with his vote;; it's everyone's prerogative. This is a free country after all. But we all have to agree that the PM was consistent throughout. He did not go like a weather vane. He has been saying all along that he is against divorce. He also acknowledged the result of the referndum and kept his romise that the people's opinion will be respected. He has achieved both.
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Qed taraw kemm hu demokratiku il-prim ministru li ghandna hux . x'jitnejjek minn dak li qalet il-maggoranza . Basta nefaq erba miljuni minn flus il-poplu biex ghamel referendum. Dawn ma harighomx minn butu , hu go butu dahhal dik iz-zieda li ha hu u il-ministri ,u li flimkien mas-segretarji parlamentari tieghu thanzru kemm felhu minn fuq il-poplu . Issa poplu erga mur ivvutalu halli jkompli jitnejjek bik .
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@Panto 1: who told you that his uncle is up there? If it is true as we Christians they made us believe that who ever got that famous 'INTERDETT' and died he got his passaport to hell and many years later the Archbishop Mercieca sought forgivness for the mistakes that the church had done in the previous years who can any one who commited such mistakes get his passaport to go up there? I wonder maybe he is up there and the others who got the 'INTERDETT' are up there too.
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Il-PN bhalissa issejjah lil Min ivvota IVA Liberali Min ASTJENA Moderat Min ivvota LE Ta Fibra Morali. Imbaghad jaghjjru lil Joseph li irid jinghogob ma kullhadd. Halluna nghixu pls.
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Sahta ghal Malta bhal ma kien il-famuz zijuh. Bir-religjozita' kollha taghhom, fil-prattika kemm Mikiel Gonzi u kemm Lawrence Gonzi irnexxilhom jaghmlu hsara lill-knisja f'Malta aktar minn kull kleriku jew politikant fl-istorja. U t-tnejn li huma ghandom aspett fil-karattru taghhom li jispikka fuq kollox: l-ipokrezija. Ehh x'jghamillek il-fanaticizmu!!!!
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Mario Pace
Maybe his uncle up there advised him to vote NO, as this is coming a trend to our ministers who they they have been spoken to from someone in heaven....like the finance minister for example!!!!
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I’d say the man is in a straitjacket. His avid Christian Democrat background, his namesake, his close affiliation to the church, to say nothing of the opinions of his mentor, are all hanging over him like a Damocles sword. The gentleman simply has no space to manoeuvre which brings up the next question. Can such a person be capable of fulfilling his responsibilities as prime minister? We have come a long way from the poster campaign with Gonzi smiling benignly at the nation, assuring us that our future is in good hands. Maybe left to his own accord & capabilities, he could have possibly delivered but trying to please all masters has simply made it an impossible task. Makes us sometimes wish for a politician of Mintoff’s mantle ( god forbid ) but that simply shows how tired one gets of politicians whose puppet strings are all tangled up.