Speaker cancels symposium due to boycott from predecessors

Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia has announced the symposium organised on Thursday to commemorate the first centenary of the Maltese Parliament, has been cancelled due to reports that four former speakers were planning not to attend.

In a statement on Friday, Farrugia said that he felt the symposium was a unique opportunity that gave former speakers a chance to share their experiences presiding over the house, while offering their views on how the Parliament could be better.

According to reports, Alfred Bonnici, Lawrence Gonzi, Anton Tabone, and Louis Galea, all former Nationalist Speakers, wrote to the Farrugia on Wednesday, saying that they had agreed under the current circumstances that they did not feel it was appropriate that parliament should dedicate its time to such a ceremonial event. 

Instead, they had suggested that the symposium be postponed. 

Earlier in the week, Farrugia had rejected a request by the opposition to summon parliament to debate a no-confidence motion in Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis.

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