Eddie Fenech Adami: ‘The sooner they call Franco Debono’s bluff, the better’

The present parliamentary impasse "provoked by a single individual" has prompted former prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami to advise the Nationalist leader Lawrence Gonzi to call Franco Debono's bluff

"The sooner that individual's bluff is called, the better," former PN leader Eddie Fenech Adami said.

Fenech Adami, who also occupied the role of Opposition leader in 1998, had seen a similar backbencher revolt spell the untimely end to the 22-month-old Labour government under Alfred Sant.

"I have always been against any form of appeasement policy," Fenech Adami told MaltaToday when asked what he thought of government's attempts to 'rein in' maverick backbencher Franco Debono. "Appeasement never solves any problems."

On the contrary, the solution, according to the former PM, is for government to "forge ahead with its programme, come what may."

Without referring to Debono by name, Fenech Adami said that until the current talk of rebellion translates into concrete action, there was no need for the government to do anything at all. "The situation at present is what it is. We have heard a lot of talk, but until a vote is actually taken against the government, there is no reason for government not to keep implementing its programme."

Fenech Adami shrugged off any comparison with the situation 14 years ago, when, as Opposition leader, he had put forward an adjournment motion similar to that presented by Labour leader Joseph Muscat in recent weeks.

"Back then the situation was different," he said, adding that unlike the present scenario, a government MP had translated his loose talk into action.

As the Parliamentary House Business Committee is set to meet again this evening, Leader of the House Carm Mifsud Bonnici -who is facing a motion of censure brought the Opposition - is once again expected to take a back seat during the meeting.

On Monday, although the parties were very close to an agreement, the committee could not agree on a definite date when the Opposition's motion of censure on Mifsud Bonnici should be discussed.

The Opposition and Nationalist MP Franco Debono are insisting that their motions on justice and home affairs are debated before a 9 May vote on a money bill for the 2012 budget measures, which Lawrence Gonzi needs a majority to carry forward.

In an unprecedented move, Foreign Affairs Minister and former leader of the house Tonio Borg participated in the committee meeting on Monday for the first time since he was replaced by Mifsud Bonnici as leader of the house in January.

Borg went on to do most of the talking while a tense Mifsud Bonnici set awkwardly in silence next to him. It was evident from the very start that the government's intention was to push back the debate on the Mifsud Bonnici motion as further back as possible, with both parties trying to out-manoeuvre each other.

In January, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi removed justice from Mifsud Bonnici's portfolio and softened the blow by appointing him as leader of the house instead of Tonio Borg. The leader of the house is responsible for organising the government business and providing time and a schedule for non-government business to be put before parliament.

In a move which may come back to haunt Gonzi, Mifsud Bonnici was appointed leader of the house just after the Opposition tabled a motion calling for Mifsud Bonnici's resignation.

Despite a binding agreement to have the discussion held by the end of January, Mifsud Bonnici has continuously postponed the debate, much to the Opposition's and Nationalist MP Franco Debono's annoyance.

The decision to sideline Mifsud Bonnici during Monday's meeting vindicated the Opposition's stance that he should not have been allowed to handle parliament's agenda as he had a clear conflict of interest.

On Monday, the two sides came close to reaching an agreement on the schedule of the two motions calling for the resignation of Mifsud Bonnici and Malta's Permanent Representative to the EU Richard Cachia Caruana.

At the start of the meeting, Borg proposed to discuss the Opposition's motion on Mifsud Bonnici on 4 June, very close to the summer recess. In one of his rare interventions, Mifsud Bonnici also suggested to hold the debate on the Opposition's motion on Cachia Caruana within a week of his grilling in Parliament's foreign affairs committee, which has not been scheduled yet.

After patiently hearing both sides squabble about dates and schedules, Speaker Michael Frendo - who was flanked by constitutional law expert Ian Refalo - said the difference between the two positions is of four weeks and proposed 23 May as a compromise.

Borg agreed to the 23 May date and vowed to hold the vote by not later than 30 May. On the other hand, the Opposition said the debate should be held in the days proceeding 23 May and have the vote held on the day.

As Franco Debono seemed to accept the Speaker's compromise, the meeting was adjourned to tonight in order to give the parties time to discuss the matter within their parliamentary group.