A ‘doubly-defiant’ Pullicino Orlando

PN MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando says that joint private members' bill was "natural way forward", but Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi says he was again kept in the dark

15 December 2010, 12:00am

1 min read

PN MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has snubbed Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his Parliamentary group for the second time running in a few months, and presented parliament with a jointly-signed private members’ bill in tandem with Labour MP Evarist Bartolo, calling for the introduction of divorce.

The new bill supercedes the original ‘bolt out of the blue’ motion presented last July by Pullicino Orlando, prompting the PM to summon his parliamentary group to seek order on his benches.

Yesterday’s joint-motion technically strengthens the original proposal by Pullicino Orlando by transposing it in context to Maltese law, but it now also carries the signature of a Labour MP which has raised eyebrows at Castille.

While Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando argued that the new motion co-signed with IVA Movemnet co-founder and PL MP Evarist Bartolo was the “next natural step forward,” a spokesman for Castille told this paper last night that the Prime Minister didn’t know anything about the new bill.

PN Parliamentary Group whip David Agius stressed that he too never knew anything about the bill, and added that he “couldn’t understand why the MP didn’t inform his PM or his colleagues when he knew of the reactions last time he presented the bill.” David Agius refused to comment further.

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The PM did not know about the bill, he did not read the delimara contract,he doesn't seem to know anything, more like he is a shadow PM.

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you have to admire the guy. JPO had his political career on the rocks and not only is he promoting himself to the limelight again, but enlisting the help of one of the Labour heavyweights in the process. I am all for divorce, don't get me wrong. But I think Evarist should thread warily. Wasn't he also one of the guys who quite rightly, lambasted JPO over the Mistra farce ?

Norman Buckle •

"the Prime Minister didn’t know anything about the new bill." It seems that the Prime Minister doesn't know much about fundamental human rights either! He should consider joining a monastery :)