Marlene Farrugia will join Opposition parliamentary group

Partit Demokratiku leader and MP Marlene Farrugia will join the Opposition’s parliamentary group, the party has confirmed following an executive meeting.

Should her partner and fellow PD candidate Godfrey Farrugia join her in Parliament through Wednesday’s casual elections, then he too will automatically join the Opposition’s parliamentary group.

The PD said in a statement that this decision will ensure a more coordinated and effective parliamentary opposition, which will allow the ‘Orange Party’ to serve more effectively as the “People’s Seat”.

“Partit Demokratiku is confident that this parliamentary representation will therefore serve more effectively as the People’s Seat, will be constructive and proactive in the House debates and the fulfillment of all its parliamentary obligations, in particular, the scrutiny of the Government,” it said.

Marlene Farrugia was elected to Parliament as a PD candidate but on the PN ticket, a novel pre-election coalition intended to attract people who wanted to vote for a third party but didn’t want to ‘throw away’ their vote.

However, since her election, questions have been raised about her commitment towards the PD, and indeed she has refused to rule out contesting for the vacant PN leadership.