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Labour leader ‘holding prime minister accountable’ over confidence vote without abstention
Joseph Muscat tweets Prime Minister must obtain “clear vote with no abstentions”.
4 June 2012, 12:00am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
2 min read
Joseph Muscat said that tonights foregone conclusion must deliver a clear vote with no abstentions.
Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said he will hold Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi accountable to a benchmark he set himself Sunday morning, that he would not have any conditions tied to a vote of confidence he will face Monday evening.
Muscat reiterated the message he imparted on Sunday that tonight's "foregone conclusion" in government's favour can only deliver a "clear vote with no abstentions", in a tweet he sent today morning.
Today's vote foregone conclusion in gov's favour.From now on we will hold PM accountable to new benchmark: clear vote with no abstentions-JM — Joseph Muscat(@JosephMuscat_JM) June 4, 2012
So far, Nationalist MP Franco Debono - who voted with the Opposition in last week's resignation motion against Carm Mifsud Bonnici - has declared he will not vote against government. Muscat's tweet indicates Labour will be insisting that the Opposition will be holding Gonzi accountable on all forthcoming government votes, to have no abstentions.
The government will has to face an Opposition motion calling on Gonzi to ask Richard Cachia Caruana, the permanent ambassador to the EU, to resign.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi insisted on PBS's Dissett that he wanted a "clear vote of confidence" without any conditions attached. He said he would see to the full ramifications of a motion carried with the Speaker's casting vote at the end of the vote, held tonight in Parliament at 9pm.
Joseph Muscat has accused Gonzi of not being clear about what he means on a clear vote, as questions were raised over whether the prime minister would seek early elections if his confidence motion passes with the Speaker's casting vote if an MP abstains.
But government whip David Agius said today on PBS breakfast show TVAM that the government expected Franco Debono to toe the line and vote in favour of the confidence motion.
The motion was called by Gonzi last week in a rebuttal of the resignation motion that ousted Carm Mifsud Bonnici as home affairs minister.
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
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What about Dr. Anglu Farrugia declaring and has evidence that Dr. Paul Borg Olivier General Secretary of the PN sending letters or emails to business man and others to attend yesterday mass meeting at Luxol and if they did not intend to attend they have to say inform PN back why they could not. Lol this shows that to gather some hundred followers nowadays PN is just telling them it's a must to attend, it proves many have left them and do not want to hear anymore lies and deceit. That even means that if one does not attend and does not give a good reason why he was absent he would not get any favours before this incumbent GonziPN is gone for good.
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L-arlogg qed itektek Guz....b'xiber imnieher ser tibqa - ghax jekk mhux se tilhaq PM sat-tmienja w'ghoxrin t'Awwissu mhux ser tikser ir-rekord!!!
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Why didn't Gonzi hold another one-horse race after losing the vote of no-confidence on Dr. CMB ?
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L-arlogg qed itektek Guz....b'xiber imnieher ser tibqa - ghax jekk mhux se tilhaq PM sat-tmienja w'ghoxrin t'Awwissu mhux ser tikser ir-rekord!!!
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L-arlogg qed itektek Guz....b'xiber imnieher ser tibqa - ghax jekk mhux se tilhaq PM sat-tmienja w'ghoxrin t'Awwissu mhux ser tikser ir-rekord!!!
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I did hear Dr Gonzi state unequivocally towards the end of "Dissett", that it is either 35/34 in favour of a vote of confidence or he will have to call a general election. It could have been a slip of the tongue, seeing the tremendous pressure he is under.
