Franc(o) Incenses All before Christmas Recess

It’s Erskine May and Alfred-May-Not all over again in Parliament as a seemingly innocuous vote about who should head two parliamentary committees almost resulted in the government side losing two votes. It was not exactly a government crushing moment and much as the labour side try to cook up a theory of “instable government” behind it it was still bound to happen any day. Pairing matters aside it all went Pete Tong when Honourable Member Franco Debono absented himself for reasons as yet unkown (*) from the Chamber of Deputies. A Labourite MP moved an amendment to a government motion as to who should head two committees in the making and when every MP was called to do his duty the resultant vote on the opposition motion was 32 to 32. Missing were two votes on each side (for absence or pairing) plus the glaring emptiness that was Franco Debono’s vote.

It was of little help that Franco has often been linked (by the malicious press of course) to the potential turncoats in the Nationalist fold. As some would have it, he has sniffed the wind and is seriously investing in a possible crossing of the Chamber. J’accuse has absolutely no proof of this and unless we look through a series of denials (cagey but still denials) by the person directly interested there is nothing much that a serious journalist can stand on. Having said that, given his interest in quashing the rumours of any potential hesitation, Franco Debono should have been the last person you’d have expected to see in this kind of mess. Pity poor Louis Galea who had to pour over Erskine-May, that Bible of ineffable excuses that seems to give grounding to any necessary decision made by persons sitting in his capacity. Pity the Honourable Novel Writer who experienced the added sufferance of reliving an experience past when ten winters ago he faced rebel a rebel MP (and what a Rebel)  of his own in what would eventually lead to the crumbling of his government.

The charade was brought to a swift end when Louis Galea first used his casting vote as speaker (to the squeaks and protestations of Inhobbkom the Younger and his advisors) then all normality (at least as far as PLPN concubinage goes) was repristinated when the vagabond MP returned to his seat and voted himself into the chairmanship of one of the aforementioned committees.

Governments will not be crumbling. Labour will still yell that this is “anti-democratic” until they are blue (red?) in the face. What we can conclude is that something is still amiss in the PN fold. Either that or this was one hell of  a lapsus before Christmas. The rules of the game still stand as they are – and if this kind of farce still manages to give us a “stable” government … then may the good Lord grant us enough clowns to be governed by.

Aside: Have you missed Austin Sammut’s gem of an article on yesterday’s Times. Will someone please take a pic of Austin Sammut and photoshop him into a new Guevara? If he did not exist we really would have to invent him. The Sicily Ferry Diaries: the notes and braveries of a Christian-Democrat Revolutionary.

Aside II: Will someone explain to Joseph Muscat the inherent contradiction in pressuring for an early break up of the government BECAUSE it threatens stability?

(*) One claim put forward is that Franco Debono was fast asleep at the time at his house.