Debono said he asked Gonzi to condemn ‘blogger’s vile attack’ against mother

Nationalist MP Franco Debono has denied suggestions that he sought the position of Leader of the House, during negotiations with a government interlocutor over his voting intentions throughout the week.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told the media that "a solution could not be found" when asked whether Debono had been offered the role of Leader of the House.

Debono's vote in favour of the Opposition motion later on Wednesday evening led to the resignation of Home Affairs minister, and Leader of the House, Carm Mifsud Bonnici.

But Debono has denied having "asked for the role of the Leader of the House" during discussions with the government side.

"I was asking them who would be made Leader of the House if Mifsud Bonnici resigns... I wasn't asking to be appointed, so much so that I don't even know whether you have to be a minister to be appointed to the role.

"But I did make it clear I would have appreciated such an offer, even though I would have never accepted it," he said.

The MP has however told MaltaToday he did ask the Prime Minister - even before the 9 May vote on the budget measures - to condemn "a blogger's vile attack against my mother and family."

"I asked him to be specific in his condemnation," Debono said, but refused to name the blogger or whether he was referring to Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia, whose 'poison-pen' blogs were the subject of some of his parliamentary speeches.

Only this week in the House, he mocked the columnist as Daphne 'Cachia Caruana', to highlight the close friendship she has with permanent representative to the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana.

"I don't care about the attacks leveled against me, but I will never accept attacks leveled against my family. This is psychological violence, not some parliamentary motion," Debono said.

Indeed, in his speech on Wednesday evening, Lawrence Gonzi said his government condemned attacks against any MP by bloggers.

But Debono said the lack of specificity in his condemnation was "very determining" for how he voted. "We were so close and yet so far," Debono said on the discussions between him and the PN.

In one of her blogposts back in January, Caruana Galizia had written that Debono's mother "should be arrested and charged with crimes against the state for foisting her tifel biezel on us".

Debono also said he was offered a "number of things" in writing in a document that was passed on to him, but refused to elaborate on what the offers were, or who had given him the document. "The only one thing I could have accepted was Carm Mifsud Bonnici's resignation from Leader of the House. All the other things they offered wouldn't have determined my vote.

"I have long been telling the prime minister to remove Mifsud Bonnici from home affairs. At one point they told me he was going to resign from minister, then Leader of the House, then that he wasn't resigning ... it was very fluid," Debono said.

Up until Wednesday afternoon, Debono had left everyone guessing on how he would vote after giving conflicting versions of his intentions to different media.

Debono said he was satisfied that Gonzi had taken home affairs under his wing. "I think it was a good decision which sends out a strong message that he will be tackling the issues raised."

However he felt someone other than deputy prime minister Tonio Borg should have been Leader of the House. "I believe he should have appointed someone else. Why appoint Borg if he was removed five months ago? He is not the ideal person since his role as foreign affairs minister requires that he travel a lot."

Asked whether he had any suggestions on who would have made a good Leader of the House, Debono said it wasn't in his remit to name anyone.

Beppe Fenech Adami 'is not the party'

Reacting to comments made by Nationalist MP Beppe Fenech Adami to MaltaToday, Debono said Fenech Adami "was not the party".

Fenech Adami said that after yesterday's vote, Debono had "burnt all bridges with the Nationalist Party" and that he "cannot work in a team" when asked whether the maverick MP was accepted within the PN.

"I am not going to comment out of the huge respect I have for his father," Debono said. "Beppe is not the party and those decisions are not taken by him."

Debono added that Fenech Adami's stand contrasted greatly with the comments made by MP Edwin Vassallo. Vassallo said that Debono's future within the party depended entirely on him: "The doors of the party are always open but it will only depend on how much he [Debono] will feel comfortable or not."

He also said he appreciated the position taken by Vassallo and fellow backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando on his future within the party.