Kullħadd isemmi li Franco Debono kien waqqa' l-gvern fl-10 ta' Diċembru 2012, meta vvota kontra l-baġit. Dak iż-żmien Debono kien insista li l-Ministru tat-Trasport Austin Gatt għandu jassumi responsabbiltà, billi jirreżena, ta' fallimenti f'diversi setturi u f'diversi riformi, fosthom ir-riforma tat-trasport pubbliku, kif ukoll it-telf kbir finanzjarju li ġarrbu d-Dry Docks minħabba deċiżjonijiet żbaljati bħall-kuntratt ta' Fairmount. Debono kien għamilha ċara lill-Prim Ministru Lawrence Gonzi, li sakemm Gatt jibqa' ma jirriżenjax, hu mhux se jivvota favur il-baġit, u mingħajr il-vot tiegħu, l-abbozz tal-baġit ma kienx se jgħaddi.
Dak li pero tipikament ma jissemmix f'din l-istorja kollha, huwa l-kuntest. L-aħħar elezzjoni ġenerali kienet fl-2008, mirbuħa mill-PN. Lawrence Gonzi kien reġa' assuma l-kariga ta' Prim Ministru mill-11 ta' Marzu 2008, għalhekk f'Diċembru 2012, il-mandat leġiżlattiv ta' ħames snin (hekk kif dettat mill-Kostituzzjoni ta' Malta) kien xorta waħda ħa jiskadi fl-10 ta' Marzu 2013, u infatti kien ġa kważi skada għalkollox — tant hu hekk li dik il-leġiżlatura baqgħet iżżomm postha sal-aħħar nett, bil-Prim Ministru Lawrence Gonzi, wara l-vot ta' Debono, jiskeda l-elezzjoni ġenerali li kien jmiss għad-9 ta' Marzu 2013, u b'hekk ġie żgurat li l-mandat massimu ta' ħames snin ikun ġie servut fl-intir tiegħu.
Joseph Gatt It's amazing how much could be achieved through generosity. 💔
Flashback to three months ago (March 2025):
Borg said that while this confrontational style might appease parties’ core voters, it is unlikely to do much to sway floaters or people who are completely disinterested in politics.
“Rather than discussing the issues that people want us to talk about and the problems they are facing, such as the cost of living, traffic and overpopulation, we are discussing the Speaker. Will this issue attract the 100,000 people who don’t identify with either party and don’t want to vote? I don’t think it will.”
Following Dr Bernard Grech's shock resignation on June 10th, from his post of leader of the PN, I think that it is worthwhile to recall what originally led to this predicament. Things had come to a head about five years ago, prompting the Nationalist Party's general council to vote in favour of a fresh leadership contest. The vote was 56% in favour, and 44% against. At the time the leader of the PN was Dr Adrian Delia, who incidentally was the very first leader elected directly by the party membership, way back in September 2017. Overall I think that history has demonstrated clearly that the Nationalist Party's general council had erred greatly when it decided to annul the result of the first direct election from the party membership, and in the absence of any concrete proof of malfeasance. As it turned out, Dr Bernard Grech won the new leadership contest against Dr Adrian Delia, after winning 69.3% of the votes against Delia's 30.7%. This was the second time that the party membership was called to elect the party's leader.
Joseph Gatt "Many in the [PN] party have come to realise that his [Adrian Delia's] dethronement was a strategic mistake, which left his successor limping amidst lingering resentment that cost the party thousands of votes in the 2022 election. "— James Debono (https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/135678/analysis__pn_at_a_crossroads_the_narrow_ideological_choice_)
Joseph Gatt In four years' time we will have the bicentennial of the introduction of trials by jury in Malta! 😮
Joseph Gatt A follow-up to: https://zafoid.com/post/view/11984