Debono lays out his vision as nation tunes in to Parliamentary debate

Franco Debono chose to spell out his vision and explain what reforms the country needs instead of antagonising the situation further during his much awaited speech in Parliament yesterday evening. Debono reiterated his criticism of government for its failure in carrying out reform and holding its ministers to account.

Before his speech the Nationalist MPs present looked glum, however as soon as Debono's speech was over Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi looked visibly relieved. Government's worst fears of an incendiary speech by Debono and further criticism by other MPs did not materialise and all indications point towards a defeat of the Opposition's motion of no-confidence.

During his concluding speech Joseph Muscat will have to come up with a forceful and convincing speech to justify the no-confidence motion. Muscat faced a barrage of accusations from many Nationalist MPs for failing to explain why the Opposition tabled the no-confidence motion. Muscat and his entourage might have had a sleepless night in order to come up with a clear speech to fight the accusations of political opportunism.

PN backbencher Edwin Vassallo, the last speaker of the evening, said that Franco Debono had spoken with sincerity and had spoken freely as was his right. He said Debono spoke about what he felt was not fair and right. "Now that Franco Debono has spoken, the Opposition's is in trouble because it has not given reasons for its motion of no-confidence.

Debono's hour-long speech started off with a declaration of love for his party and said that had been loyal to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. He said that he agreed with Censu Galea condemnation of personal attacks made on blogs but added that the problem was that nothing was being done to stop the bloggers.

"It is right to speak about the economy, including jobs, but jobs are not everything. Justice and freedom are also important. The implication that one should shut his mouth because the government was creating jobs does not make sense."

Debono spoke about energy and said oil prices are just one variable, "The problem is that government has failed to invest in energy generation over the years." He criticised government for deciding to run the Delimara power station on heavy fuel oil instead of investing in gas.

Debono spoke at length about the need to ensure stability in Europe and said the economic crisis should not be used as an excuse for government's failures. "The political process in Malta is in a state of inertia. Strong and effective political institutions, meritocracy, division of powers and accountability were essential for economic growth."

In his speech he also remarked that it was ridiculous that in the digital age, parliament still made its voice heard on radio. He also lambasted Home Affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici for not moving fast enough to ensure that courts stop recording sittings on cassette tapes.

He said the Attorney General office held too much power and added "We have dismantled our judical system to create a new one full of problems" He also said he was right in calling for the separation of the Justice and Home Affairs Ministries and went on to explain why the justice administration needs to be reformed. "The separation of powers has to be clear and we need to review how the Justice Minister acts, how judges are nominated and how justice is administered."

Debono said he has a right to speak his mind as a backbencher because "the electorate has granted me this right" but the Prime Minister "has a duty to act on the proposals that are made to him". In his harshest criticism to the prime Minister, Debono said backbenchers did not deserve to be insulted for doing their work.

"The Prime Minister should not create a parallel universe for ministers and another one for backbenchers. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are living on a different planet while the backbench and the people are ignored."

He said Ministers should be held accountable, and government only lasted for as long as the prime minister enjoyed the support of the majority of the House. "To do so the Prime Minister has to lead a team. Loyalty is important, but when a prime minister acts like he can bulldoze over everybody else, he is inviting trouble." He said that the politics of spite were more dangerous than the politics of envy.

"The Prime Minister should not reward those who failed, while criticising those who speak up. It is unacceptable that who commits errors gets promoted and who carries out his duty is criticised. People around the prime minister treat MPs as a 'bicca deputat'. This is a grave error because MPs are not toys."

He said members of the Cabinet who failed had to shoulder their responsibilities.

"It is regrettable that in Malta, political parties remain the most unregulated bodies. Hopefully they are not abusing of their powers."

Debono also called for reforms in the electoral system, the nomination of the President and broadcasting. He said "It is unacceptable that State television is used to favour some ministers and destroy some other persons. "Broadcasting needs to be reformed in order to remove the need to have private and political stations owned by the parties."

He said when an MP is elected on a party ticket the deputy is obliged to represent the electorate. "It is dangerous to have a Prime Minister and a Cabinet of ministers do as they like. Unfortunately people will confirm that the Nationalist Party is not in a good shape."

Debono mentioned the Hermann Schiavone issue as an example. Schaivone had accused Debono of being the author of an anonymous letter. Subsequently, Schiavone was reprimanded by the PN and removed from the list of candidates. Lately, Schiavone was seen in numerous public events organized by the party. Debono said Scvhiavone's actions were unacceptable but the PN was slow in addressing the problem. He added that Schiavone has a bigger hunger for power then Joseph Muscat. 

"The absence of a culture of resignation is serious. In my university thesis, I said that MPs should be reluctant to embarrass government, but it certainly does not apply when ministers themselves do their best to embarrass government. Under this government, no one has been made to resign, but in an obscene manner, I am asked to resign, because I disagree with this culture"

Debono reiterated his disagreement with the way the prime minister voted against divorce in parliament, despite the Yes victory in the referendum.

"It is absurd that the prime minister said he would assure that parliament would approve the law but he would vote against. This goes against democracy. That, alone, should have been a reason for his resignation."

In his concluding remarks, Debono said "I was elected in a democracy. I am worried about the issues I have listed. I am worried about keeping a minister accountable. Nobody carries responsibility and who disagrees with this culture is asked to resign. This is a medieval mentality. The Prime Minister has every right to choose his Cabinet and I have every right to disagree with the Prime Minister's policies. Creating jobs does not justify gagging persons who are concerned about other matters."

As soon as Debono ended his speech there was a mass exodus of MPs from the Chamber. The debate comes to a conclusion today with the vote expected to be taken at noon. The outcome of the vote is unpredictable but after Debono's speech, government MPs seemed confident that the no-confidence motion will be defeated. The manner and the political implications are yet to be discovered.