Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1270964
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 JULY 2020 OPINION A Pyrrhic victory is one that is offset by staggering losses. The expression refers to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans in 279 BC, but lost his best officers and many of his troops. Whether Adrian Delia or his detractors will eventually 'win' the current tussle between them, the winner would only be able to celebrate a Pyrrhic vic- tory because the loss in terms of the PN's support among voters is certainly staggering. The reaction of the man in the street to the shenanigans of the last two weeks is one of disgust – except for the stupid chunk of Labour supporters who kept wringing their hands and 'en- joying' it. I met old PN stalwarts who were almost in tears. Many had voted for Delia because he promised a 'new way' that would help reinvent the party after two humiliating electoral defeats. At this point, it is im- material whether this did not materialise because Delia was not up to it or because his own MPs never gave him the chance to move the party in the prom- ised direction. It could be a bit of both. That is an issue that will eventually be judged by his- tory. There is no doubt, however, that those who never accept- ed him as leader did not act in good faith on several occasions and were behind the dirty ma- noeuvres that led to Delia's pre- dicament. In electing Delia as leader, the party members had acted in good faith – that same good faith that has kept on dwindling ever since that election. More so as, in contrast with the party card-carrying members (tesse- rati) the 'established' party nev- er accepted Delia as a leader. I am irked with the lack of loyalty and the obscene ma- noeuvres that paved the way for Delia's downfall. Whether this downfall is imminent or can be postponed to after the election is irrelevant – the methods used were disloyal and the guiding notion was that the end justifies the means. Loyalty to one's principles and to other people is not tanta- mount to submission to anoth- er's will. I still remember that when I was a doting father of a ten- year old boy seeking to enjoy playing at football, I had taken the opportunity to expound to him the virtue of loyalty. Loyal- ty to the other members of your team, loyalty to the game itself and loyalty to your adversary were all strands of loyalty that one should respect and hold dear in life. This is where both sides of the PN divide have failed miserably. And this why whichever way the issue is resolved, the PN will suffer yet another humiliating defeat in the next general elec- tion, whenever it is called. The irony is that both sides have now lost their way – they have failed to keep on recalling the reasons for the very exist- ence of the posts that they oc- cupy. And – what is even worse – they are oblivious of the dis- gust of the people who genuine- ly support the PN. If anybody thinks that on re- placing Delia, everything will be forgotten and the party will suddenly become united under his successor, they are com- pletely wrong. Talk to the tesse- rati in the street and you will find that the amount of resent- ment caused by the methods of those who never wanted Delia in the first place is much more than it seems on the surface. The self-inflicted wounds of the PN will take a long time to heal. Meanwhile, the prospects of Malta having an alternative opposition party ready to be in government – when the need arises – are becoming more and more a far-fetched possibility. Malta is suffering a serious democratic deficit because of the irresponsible behav- iour of a few self-serving and short-sighted politicians. Intriguing parallel A guest post written by Luke Frendo and published on Lovin Malta makes an interesting comparison between the vote of no-confidence in Adrian Delia passed by the PN parliamentary group and a very similar episode in the British House of Com- mons. Frendo recalls how in 2016, the Labour Party in the United Kingdom was facing a situation almost identical to that in which the PN found itself recently when on 28 June of that year, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party and of the Oppo- sition at the time, lost a no-con- fidence motion amongst his own parliamentary group, by an over- whelming majority of 172 to 40. Frendo points out that Cor- byn's reaction was uncannily similar to that of Delia: "I was democratically elected leader of our party for a new kind of pol- itics by 60% of Labour members and supporters, and I will not betray them by resigning." Frendo recalls that the day following Corbyn's heavy de- feat, a point of order was raised in the House of Commons. An MP argued that Corbyn could no longer hold the position of Leader of the Opposition. He also asserted that the La- bour Party should no longer be deemed the official opposition party because it could not rea- sonably be expected to assume office in the event of the resig- nation of government. He asked for the Speaker of the House to address these issues. John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons at the time, gave an interesting ruling that is very relevant in the con- text of recent events in Malta. Faced with a situation where- in the Leader of the Opposi- tion had lost the support of his parliamentary group by a sig- nificant majority, Bercow's re- sponse was: "I can confirm that the Labour Party currently con- stitutes the official Opposition and that its leader is recognised by me, for statutory and parlia- mentary purposes, as the Lead- er of the Opposition." Bercow did not remove Cor- byn nor did he make any at- tempt to identify a replacement. He simply confirmed the La- bour Party as the official Op- position, ignoring the dissent amongst its Parliamentary Group, and confirmed its party leader as the Leader of the Op- position. Frendo points out that this is practically the same position that was taken up by the Pres- ident of Malta. As the UK stubbornly soldiers on without a written constitu- tion, Bercow's ruling is now en- trenched in Erskine May, the bi- ble of parliamentary procedure for the UK House of Commons. Corbyn stubbornly stayed on, only stepping down as Leader of the Labour Party after it was subjected to a humiliating rout in the 2019 election. Michael Falzon A Pyrrhic victory on the cards micfal45@gmail.com