Sort it out will you!

Am I the only one who is getting royally fed up of the state of affairs in the country? A little bit of excitement is a good thing, but we have now totally overdosed. Every day there is some new development or discussion programme and inevitably, we end up dissecting every statement made in order to try to make heads or tails of the saga.

Everywhere I go the topic of conversation revolves around Franco Debono and confidence votes, with different scenarios being trotted out ad nauseam. Will the Prime Minister call a confidence vote? Will the leader of the opposition do so instead? If yes, what will Franco Debono do? What if nobody calls a confidence vote? Will Franco Debono vote against the government the moment the first money bill comes along (which is quite soon due to the changes to the budget) or will he simply abstain? Is it actually possible for Lawrence Gonzi to limp along for another year? Ultimately, it all boils down to: will the country be going to the polls this March?

Clearly, this is not a healthy position for our country to be in at the moment. The eurozone crisis is already putting our economy under pressure and this brouhaha is the last thing we need. The feeling is that we are in suspended animation, waiting to find out how the next three months are going to pan out - and indeed, after that, how the rest of the year will evolve, since the election might result in our having an entirely new government, with the associated changes in direction and policy.

The uncertainty is a killer for business, so I was not surprised to hear that various business associations and unions have spoken up and asked the prime minister to resolve matters as soon as possible. Business confidence is taking a nosedive, due in part to the abovementioned instability issues, but also to the austerity measures that are being imposed on us.

News that government has had to trim a further €40 million euros from its planned expenditure for this year was not welcomed by the business community, seeing as this will result in a reduction of €60 million or more from the economy due to the multiplier effect.  Matters were made worse when it became known that it is probable that Malta did not meet its deficit targets for 2011 - a fact that will most likely result in the European Commission putting on pressure for ever-increasing austerity measures when the figures become public in a couple of months' time.

There is no doubt that given the circumstances, companies all over Malta have currently put various investment projects on hold or scaled them down. Once again, this will have a ripple effect on the economy, so it is very bad news.

So all in all, this is a really bad time for an election because it means that the people who should have their eyes on the ball will instead be out campaigning. It also means increased costs that we can ill afford, for an election does not come cheap.

However, that said, my feeling is that an election is inevitable and that at this stage it is preferable to go to the polls than to drift along as we are currently doing. Unless Franco Debono has a change of heart of Damascene proportions, I really do not see how Lawrence Gonzi can steer the country over the coming months.

The political parties are clearly assessing how to manipulate the situation to their advantage. They might pay lip service to the fact that they are putting the national interest first and foremost, but that is a load of hogwash. At the end of the day the PN will do its utmost to extend the party's stay in power while the PL will manoeuvre in order to topple the government. So when PN exponents analyse the situation, they will say that an election is very bad news for the country, while PL people will claim that it is the instability that's the killer. Both of them are right, of course - the ideal scenario would be to have a stable government and an election next year. However, Franco Debono is likely to put paid to that notion the second he gets an opportunity to do so.

The frustrating thing in all this is that Franco Debono may be right about many of the issues he raised, but clearly none of the issues are important enough to merit toppling a government. Someone needs to sit him down and give him a stern talking to, explaining principles of proportionality. The reforms he is championing are valid and he definitely should raise a hue and cry about them. However he is going about this the wrong way - there is a major difference between making the leader of your party squirm in order to get his attention and stabbing him in the back. Sticking a knife in him will definitely get you noticed but that is not very useful if your leader is dead!

So all in all, Franco's actions are ultimately self-defeating, because the second the government falls, so too end any hopes of reform by the current administration. If Franco Debono continues on his current course, he is giving a clear message that he believes that the Labour Party in government is more likely to take forward the reforms that he is championing. For otherwise, what is the point?