Anglu Farrugia’s appointment a peace deal , readers say

Anglu Farrugia's appointment as Speaker of the House is nothing but an attempt by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to 'make peace' with his former right hand man.

At least that is how the majority of MaltaToday readers view Farrugia's probable appointment as Speaker. But don't worry...its only a non-scientific, online poll among MaltaToday.com.mt readers.

With a total of 1686 respondents, more than a third (652) said that the Prime Minister's apparent decision to appoint Farrugia was used to 'make peace' with the man he 'backstabbed.'

On the other hand, 31% of respondents thought the Speaker's role was good for the former MP sacked by Labour in December.

Farrugia officially resigned in December 2012, less than a week after his disastrous encounter in the live Xarabank debate with Nationalist deputy leader Simon Busuttil and the MP's insinuations on a judge's decision being politically motivated.

The deputy leader's resignation was providential after his ineffective performance on Xarabank gave the PN's newly elected deputy leader Simon Busuttil the edge, highlighting his charisma and ability to parry with political opponents.

Farrugia subsequently decided not to contest the elections.

314 respondents, or 19%, said that since Farrugia is no longer an MP, he should be appointed Speaker.

On the other hand, a total of 203respondents in the unscientific poll declared that they don't care about the appointment, or to be correct, nomination.

The Speaker of the House is elected by Parliament by simple majority and the nomination is typically submitted by the party in government.

Among his or her duties, the Speaker's must ensure that the rules of the House are followed and that all MPs have an opportunity to take part in Parliamentary debates, while balancing the rights enjoyed by both the majority and the minority.