‘Loyalty is important, but don’t expect support for arrogance’ - Debono tells Austin

Debono – who last Thursday shocked government with his threat to abstain in the parliamentary vote on Labour’s motion that calls for Gatt’s resignation over the public transport reform fiasco – has told MaltaToday that the minister’s change of stance “shows that party loyalty is very important, but it is not a pretext for a carte blanche that allows ministers to arrogantly ride roughshod over everyone, including parliament, relying on blind support from backbenchers, who not only represent the electorate but must also face it again come election time.”

The Nationalist MP, who argued that accountability was an essential element of democracy “seriously lacking in the country”, said that ministers must keep in mind that they are responsible for their actions to parliament. "They should make their utmost not to embarrass the party and their colleagues, and not to harm government.”

Debono – who has recently drafted a party financing bill and is also fervently campaigning for major Constitutional reforms – expressed his hope that his stand serves as a catalyst for urgent Constitutional reforms, adding that political parties remain the most unregulated bodies under Maltese law. “Political parties are intended to enhance and operate within a democracy, and not to bypass it,” he said.

Debono is insisting that his bill on party financing be ready as a White Paper by the end of the year.

Another PN backbencher, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando chose to remain non-committal on his eventual vote in parliament, over the  no-confidence motion against Austin Gatt. The Zebbug MP said that he will be expressing his views on the transport reform during the debate, but refrained from saying how he would vote on the motion that is calling for Austin Gatt’s resignation.

“I will say what I have to say in parliament, and I will vent my constituents' concerns during the debate,” Pullicino Orlando said, adding that he will only announce his voting intentions in parliament also.

The fiery transport minister Austin Gatt – who yesterday took partial blame for the public transport fiasco – has had a number of issues with Pullicino Orlando, the most recent being over the private members’ bill that led to a divorce referendum and the eventual introduction of the law.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is facing the ire of his backbench that insists he keeps his promise of bringing forward legislation on IVF and cohabitation. “In one of our last parliamentary group meetings some months ago, the Prime Minister promised us that he would bring the IVF and cohabitation bills to parliament by October,” one MP told MaltaToday.

Since parliament resumed after the summer recess, the PN parliamentary group has not been summoned, not even to discuss the recent ratification of the extended bailout to Greece.

Even the Budget has now been postponed to mid-November, with government still unsure on a definite date, given that the Prime Minister and many of his ministers will be away from the island on official business during the next two weeks.

The Prime Minister himself is expected to travel to Australia in the coming days where he will be accompanied by foreign minister Tonio Borg for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) while finance minister Tonio Fenech will be away for a number of EU and Eurozone ministers’ meetings related to the euro crisis.