Speaker makes strong case for Parliamentary autonomy

Everyone has had enough of hearing about the need of Parliament autonomy, Speaker Anglu Farrugia said as he called for concrete and urgent action from the political class in the customary Sette Giugno speech.

"We need to proceed from words to facts," Farrugia stressed, noting that broad political consensus exists on Parliamentary autonomy.

"Thus, the next step is to put this general will into action so that we ensure that this right which is missing today in the Maltese Parliament finally begins to form part of a series of rights which, as a Maltese people, we have achieved throughout the years since the 7th of June 1919.  It is also necessary that this step is taken within the shortest time possible as I believe that everyone has had enough of hearing about the need of Parliament autonomy from the Speakers Emeriti, to whom I pay tribute today on this occasion."

Farrugia stressed that Parliament can never be free and unshackled unless it is no longer considered administratively as a government department.

"Parliamentary authority and autonomy, though different, are intrinsically linked to each other. To achieve an active parliamentary democracy we should not be afraid of taking the next step towards an autonomous parliament," Farrugia said.

Recalling the events that followed the fateful day in 1919 when British troops fired into the crowd, killing four,  following a series of riots by the Maltese population, Farrugia noted that from that day onwards all Maltese leaders advocated for the progress of the nation, leading the country to Independence and the removal of foreign military influence.

He added that the "road was long but today we are a people with an identity, a sovereign nation. But more still remains to be done. After our experience of more than nine years of European Union membership, our Parliament has still not reached the desired level of autonomy which other national Parliaments enjoy within the same European Union."

Following in the footsteps of his predecessor Michael Frendo, Farrugia underlined the fact that although Parliament is the highest institution in the country, it enjoys no autonomy and does not have the administrative capacity to manage independently its requirements in order to fulfill its constitutional functions.

"In other words, Parliament should have the power to prepare its financial estimates and to manage its own resources unhindered, independently and in a distinct manner from any type of influence from the Executive," Farrugia said.