Thursday 28 March 2024

It’s not our fault you only have a one-seat majority

An alarming story in today’s Times has set off warning bells all over the Internet. Apparently the PL and the PN are going to be discussing “a future change to the Constitution to avoid situations where a government ends up with a one-seat majority in Parliament”.

It is clear that neither of them want another potential Franco Debono overturning their apple-cart, not now, nor in the future.

If the two main political parties have suddenly become so chummy chummy that they are willing to stop being at each other’s throats long enough to figure out a way to tamper with the Constitution, we the people need to know what is going on.  And we should have a say – this should not be something they concoct behind our backs until we are presented with a fait accomplit.

If a government only has a one seat majority that is the problem of the party in power, not the problem of the electorate.  Yes, there are thousands who are refusing to vote, and even that is a statement in itself, indicating a complete lack of faith in our political system and disgust at the shenanigans and dirty tricks we have witnessed election after election.

The political handouts, the sudden flurry of activity as the government pushes through legislation which has been left to gather dust for months and even years.  What’s coming next this week?  Legalization of  marijuana?  Same sex marriages? IVF for everyone who wants it? Do they really think we won’t notice? Do we all go around with the words GULLIBLE and STUPID  plastered on our foreheads?

The title of the story asks whether there is “too much power in a single MP’s hands”. But what exactly is “too much” power anyway…as opposed to what? Only a “little” power, or better still “no power at all”.  Yes, better no power at all, that way the MPs will all conform and obey like good little performing monkeys whenever the PM (whoever he may be) cracks his whip.  Have we learned nothing from the authoritarianism of the Mintoff years? If his Ministers did not agree with him, he simply ignored them, shouted and insulted them, and plowed ahead.  Is that really the kind of government we want?

This is no longer about Franco Debono. This is about what kind of country we want to live in. Shouldn’t there be room for dissent even within your own party so that the government is kept on its toes and continues to act democratically listening to what the people’s real concerns are?

A political party should ensure that it convinces voters so much that it is elected with a sweeping majority…so don’t blame us if the political parties are behaving in a way which is making people more apathetic. And don’t blame us if, despite all the dirty tricks in the last election, you only managed to muster 750 votes to scrap through and now have to face a situation you yourself created.

What we need more than anything else right now is leadership. A good, strong leader with vision who ensures that he allows for divergent opinions, admits when he is wrong, and strives to reach a consensus. A good leader does not back a politician in order to gain votes from a particular district and then drops that same politician like a hot potato because he no longer has need of him.

Here I am not speaking only of Franco, but of other nationalist MPs who were similarly used. Frankly, the PN is now reaping what it sowed in 2008, but the solution is not to remove the possibility of a one seat majority…the solution is for it to clean up its act so that maybe those who refuse to vote will change their mind.

 

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