'Stop making a mockery of the PN', Franco Debono urges party

Maverick PN backbencher Franco Debono is urging his party to step up its work in discussing party financing, rather than wasting time on empty rhetoric and nonsense such as Paul Borg Olivier's recent appeal for funds.

Debono, who was recently 'condemned' by the party's executive council and banned from contesting elections with PN, was reacting to a recent mail shot issued by the PN's secretary-general appealing for funds in view of the coming election campaign.: in which Borg Olivier described the Labour Party as "rich" while the PN"is not".

"This is all empty talk. They should have instead engaged in discussing the party financing law that I proposed. Instead of talking nonsense and making a mockery of politics, we should be getting serious," Debono said when asked what he made of the email.

He added that at the end of the day, short of a law that regulated the political parties, everyone could say whatever one wanted" "We talk as if we are in a band club or the square because there is nothing which regulates us... and then whoever tries to do something serious is put aside," Debono said.

Among the many proposals that the backbencher has put forward on justice and home affairs, Debono has also drafted a law on party financing, still sitting on the shelf waiting to be discussed.

Meanwhile, the PN's executive committee has postponed a meeting to discuss Debono's own request to revoke the condemnation to a later date after the backbencher could not attend the original meeting.

Debono is now considering the possibility to ask the executive to also discuss "the state of how justice and home affairs has been left by Carm Mifsud Bonnici".

"There are many issues that the party needs to discuss, even in preparation for the electoral campaign," he said.

Debono also criticised the IVF bill, presented last week by Family Minister Chris Said and Health Minister Joe Cassar, describing it as "a half-baked law". According to Debono, the unsatisfying result was due to government trying to appease everyone.

"But when one tries to please everyone ends up disappointing everyone," he noted.  

Debono is now also asking whether the PN's executive will be taking any action against the health minister, after Labour highlighted a report by the Public Service Commission which showed that four medical consultants had been appointed without being fully qualified.

Since the selection of the four consultants, the board members charged with their selection had disavowed all responsibility for the appointments by withdrawing their signatures.

At first, Cassar said he wouldn't announce the names of the board members due to data protection. However, the Data Protection Commissioner had said there was no breach of law in publishing the names.

This led Cassar to publish the names yesterday.

One of the board members included Labour MP and ophthalmologist Franco Mercieca, who is now claiming that at the time of the interview he had raised the issue of ineligibility of one of the candidates as he was not on the specialist register.

"But the chairman, Thomas Fenech, had reiterated that the list of candidates to be interview was issued by the PSC and we are obliged to assess these candidates and grade them according to their qualifications and abilities," Mercieca said.

According to Debono, Cassar should shoulder responsibility for what happened, while the PN should also take actions to discipline the minister.

"Between being accountable, accused of mismanagement and not obeying the party whip, I believe that the most serious are the first two," Debono said. "But then again those who make a pig's breakfast of things (jaghmlu l-hnizrijiet) keep on going as if nothing was wrong."

The backbencher went on to ask whether Cassar will be resigning: "We laud Mater Dei for being a state-of-the-art hospital but this process was definitely not state-of-the-art".

Debono added that on a personal basis, he had full respect for the health minister.

Talking on the events which afflicted the PN in the past weeks, Debono accused the executive of "blatantly ignoring the principles of natural justice".

"What happened during the Richard Cachia Caruana meeting and our condemnation are completely null. If it weren't so tragic it would be funny: nothing during that committee legally holds," he said.

Debono once again hit out at Transport Minister Austin Gatt - whom he blames for the drastic election candidature ban - claiming that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was only listening to what Gatt had to say.

"And as long as he will keep on listening to Gatt, he will end up facing the wall. I wanted to offer my help to the Prime Minister but he doesn't want to know because the clique wants to keep its power," he said.