Opposition will treat Speaker with dignity and respect – Gonzi

Former Labour deputy leader and newly elected Speaker of the House, Anglu Farrugia this afternoon paid a visit to the Nationalist Party leader Lawrence Gonzi at the party's headquarters in Pietà.

Opposition leader Lawrence Gonzi, himself a former Speaker, said the Nationalist Party would be defending and promoting democracy as it had always done, underpinning the Parliament's "crucial" role in democracy.

Despite being a prime PN target for years, the Opposition would be "treating the Speaker with utmost dignity and respect," Gonzi said.

On his part, Farrugia pledged to "carry out the Speaker's duties with dignity."

Farrugia, accompanied by Deputy Speaker Censu Galea, Labour whip Carmelo Abela and Clerk of the House Ray Scicluna, said that reiterated that he would be doing his best to reassure the rights of every MP in the House are upheld. He noted that he would be a Speaker for all MPs, "above partisan politics."

Both Farrugia and Gonzi agreed on the need to grant Parliament more autonomy and the Opposition leader insisted that the PN would "cooperate and respect the institution in the country's best interest."

Today's meeting contrasted with Gonzi's bullish speech in parliament during the State Opening last week, in which he said that Farrugia's appointment was an appeasement that went against the spirit of the Constitution.

Farrugia was elected Speaker following a motion presented by government and voted against by the Opposition. Until December, he occupied the Labour Party's deputy leader seat but had to resign after falling out with Labour leader Joseph Muscat.

Following his resignation, in an interview to The Times, former Labour deputy leader Anglu Farrugia

described his forced resignation in December 2012 - ostensibly over remarks he passed on a magistrate during a party speech - had been tantamount to being stabbed in the back. "This is like calling your best friend over and then shooting him in cold blood," Farrugia said.