[WATCH] ‘PN sidelines those with more liberal and less religious views’ – Cyrus Engerer

Former PN councillor turned Labour activist Cyrus Engerer says the way the Nationalist Party handled divorce was “the cherry on the cake” that led to his resignation from the party.

12 October 2011, 12:00am
by Miriam Dalli

1 min read

Former PN candidate Cyrus Engerer says it is not a “coincidence” that divorce activist Deborah Schembri has opted for the Labour Party, while others are choosing to leave the PN even though not to join Labour. “The Nationalist leadership has lost all sense of direction,” Engerer told Saviour Balzan on Favorite Channel's Reporter.

He added that the divorce referendum was the “cherry on the cake" that led to his departure from the party.

“The issue revealed how those who have a more liberal view, rather than religious, were being sidelined. They wanted to use me as a poster boy to attract those who do not share the same principles of the GonziPN clan. This was what irritated me mostly,” Engerer said.

He added that Labour was different in this regard: “It not only lets us voice our opinion, but it is using our ideas in writing the electoral manifesto.”

Reporter is aired on Favourite Channel from Monday to Friday at 7:45pm.

Miriam Dalli joined MaltaToday.com.mt in 2010 becoming assistant editor f...

More from Miriam Dalli

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‘PN sidelines those with more liberal and less religious views’ – Cyrus Engerer . Beg to differ, Loo Bondi is a declared atheiest yet he forms part of the gonziPN propaganda core. gonziPN is a double faced monster and reacts according to who one is.

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It baffles me to remember that Mr Engerer was on the PN's podium unconditionally praising the PM and his administration a couple of days before his abrupt exit from tal-Pieta'. I ask, if it was so grossly easy for Mr Engerer to abandon a life long type of political ideology deep rooted in his viens in so short a time, how sound and deep could his new found principles possibly be? And how far and long would it take him to effect without hesitation the first available journey back home?

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What a pity Saviour Balzan failed to ask the following questions: 1. To what extent can Cyrus Engerer's decison to leave the PN and join the PL be attributed to the what then appeared to be a looming court-case, which he got to know of only shortly before, and which would have necessitated his resignation from the PN? 2. Did he inform Joseph Muscat and the PL leadership of the the impending court-case before he publicly announced his decison to "cross over"? 3. Is it normal for someone to cross over, rather than announce one's resignation, and then possibly join the other party after a longish period of reflection? Damascene conversions in politics are always very suspect, Mr. Balzan might have pointed out. Alas, it appears Mr. Balzan was not at his sharpest during this interview.

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What a crap of an interview. There was only one question that Saviour Balzan had to ask this guy but he did not: "How can you, Cyrus Engerer, who faces serious charges in court, ever expect people to trust you to hold a political position?" Instead, we got a lame reference to "affarijiet privati li graw fil-hajja tieghek". What a pathetic pair - a has-been poster-boy and a journalist-wannabe.