Government MPs insist vote against Mifsud Bonnici is vote against government

During their interventions in parliament this morning, Nationalist MPs Charlo Bonnici, Jean Pierre Farrugia and Joe Falzon insisted that a vote against Home Affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici would be a vote against government.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister also hinted that the motion was one of no confidence in government.

Addressing the House, backbencher Jean Pierre Farrugia said that before justice and home affairs had been split earlier this year, Mifsud Bonnici had had a lot on his plate.

Making reference to the mention of the family court in the motion, Farrugia said it was superficial to think that no bottlenecks would be formed when the Maltese society was experiencing an increase in births outside marriage.

In an apparent appeal to Franco Debono not to vote with the Opposition in favour of the motion, Farrugia said that the Opposition had attempted to ride upon government MPs when these would be critical of government's work.

"The Opposition is not sincere and nobody should side with it," Farrugia insisted.

Nationalist MP Charlo Bonnici said that whoever cites democracy in defence of the justice and home affairs motion "was taking the country for a ride".

"Carm Mifsud Bonnici has worked hard. The motion is not only against him, but also against government. Do they expect that we don't fight back?  His work is our work, and an attack against him is an attack against us all," Bonnici said.

Bonnici said MP Edwin Vassallo had been correct is describing the motion as "immoral".

"Despite the attacks leveled by Joseph Muscat against Edwin Vassallo, in an attempt to ridicule him by calling him 'bishop', he [Vassallo] had been right in criticising the motion.

"Labour is showing that in its policies the end justifies the means and they will stop at nothing to satisfy their thirst for power," Bonnici said.

Backbencher Joe Falzon said the motion constituted an "offence" against minister Mifsud Bonnici. This prompted an intervention by Franco Debono who said that Falzon was using the wrong word, as no motion is an offence against anyone.

During a number of interjections he made, backbencher Franco Debono criticised Mifsud Bonnici for his reference to the frame-up of Pietru Pawl Busuttil.

While yesterday addressing the PN general council, Mifsud Bonnici said there was nothing worse than accusing somebody of crime when the person is innocent. Citing the frame-up, Mifsud Bonnici said the Opposition had not changed in the last 25 years.

Intervening while Labour MP Owen Bonnici was debating the right of legal assistance to arrested persons; Debono said it was "shameful" that Mifsud Bonnici made reference to the case.

"He should be ashamed of citing the frame-up of Pietru Pawl Busuttil when Mifsud Bonnici had been plotting with the Opposition not to introduce the most serious law during interrogation," he claimed.