Evarist Bartolo hits out at Fenech Adami over divorce stance: 'his family had three marriage annulments'
Labour MP Evarist Bartolo hits out at former prime minister Eddie Fenech over stance to divorce, citing marriage annulments that allowed his children to remarry.
Labour MP Evarist Bartolo has hit out at former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami, who is gradually assuming a primary role in fronting the anti-divorce campaign.
Bartolo – co-founder of the Yes for divorce campaign – stressed that it is “hypocritical” of Fenech Adami to speak out against divorce, adding that “he should be more compassionate and less self-righteous about the problems faced by many married couples, as not all have the luxury of obtaining three marriage annulments in the same family," he said with reference to Fenech Adami's children's marriage breakups and subsequent annulments from the Catholic Church.
Bartolo was giving comment to MaltaToday in a reaction to Fenech Adami's interview on Radju Malta on Saturday. Eddie Fenech Adami said it was "unacceptable" that Nationalist backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando had presented a private member's bill on divorce without informing the Prime Minister beforehand.
His declaration came by way of criticism of Lawrence Gonzi's "need to rein in his members", and said divorce was an example of how the agenda had been set "behind his back".
"I admire the way the country is being administered... at times [Gonzi] gives the impression that he doesn't hold on to the reins as strongly [as necessary]. People in authority need to be on top of it," Fenech Adami told Radju Malta presenter Andrew Azzopardi.
Asked for an example of Gonzi's lack of control, Fenech Adami did not hesitate to conjure up the divorce issue: "I could never accept something like what Pullicino Orlando did. When you are in a party... you cannot go behind everybody's back, make a fait accompli of everything,and set the agenda. I think it was a big mistake on his part to do this without informing the Prime Minister," Fenech Adami said.