Government carries amended motion of confidence

Farrugia says that the national interest requires stability and that the Opposition’s motion seeks to stifle progress obtained under the Labour government. Tim Diacono

The deputy prime minister says that the Labour government will not give in to the arrogance that had plagued the previous administration: “People trust us because they know we work hard to earn it. We are aware of how the people are feeling on Panama. We are not underestimating the complexity of this issue, nor are we saying that this is yesterday’s business. Action will be taken.”

Grech adds that the government, in the future, will also tackle accountability of MPs. He reiterates Muscat’s pledge of publishing as yet unpublished public contracts.

Mallia, who was forced to resign in December 2014, says that opponents rejoiced in attacking the hardworking politicians until they are forced out. He says, that such attitude was putting off people from joining politics.

“I became a politician because I wanted to help change the country for the better,” Mallia says, adding that this government has brought with a “feel good factor”.

The finance minister says Malta’s financial jurisdiction has nothing to do with Panama’s: “It is important that our country presents a united front. We must negotiate and compromise and avoid any stamping of feet ... we will fight tax evasion by international companies whilst defending our system.”

Still not a word on what @SimonBusuttil will do about his deputy leaders. I won't hold my breath.

— Owen Bonnici (@OwenBonnici) April 18, 2016

Buttigieg says the opposition presented a good governance report because it truly believed in changing the country’s mentality. She lists the different measures proposed, including burdening MPs with the responsibility of reporting any wrongdoing of other MPs.

She accuses Mizzi of insulting people’s intelligence by ignoring parliamentary questions on his travels.

“You can call me ‘desire’ all you want … you won’t insult me,” Buttigieg tells MPs on the opposite benches after once again insisting that people would have expected him to resign this evening.

The embattled minister is facing calls for resignation after it emerge that he had set up an offshore trust with an attached company in Panama.

Once again admitting that choosing Panama “wasn’t the best choice”, Mizzi reiterates that he has opened up his affairs to open scrutiny.

“The scheme has been certified by the MFSA as satisfying all the legal requirements, and yet Labour pounced on it – both to try and deviate attention from the Panama scandal and to destroy the scheme itself,” he says. “Instead of destroying it, Labour actually managed to promote it and indeed interest in the scheme shot up since then.”

Said said that the PN has to finance its newspapers from its own coffers, while Labour gets to broadcast its propaganda for free courtesy of the General Workers’ Union’s workers.

“Now the GWU is earning a hefty profit by renting out its properties to government authorities, and the union itself has now opened a company that employs people on precarious conditions.”

“The Labour Party is just the party of Sadeen, of Café Premier, of the Gaffarenas, of the Libyans and Algerians who obtained a visa and of the fat cats.”

“The worst thing that can happen to a country is when politicians think that, the worst to happen to a country is the opposing party rather than focusing on society’s needs,” he says.

He adds that the opposition could not hit out at Panama’s secrecy when it had its own secret scheme – a reference to the PN’s loan scheme.

Bartolo also speaks of a “public morality” that fights corruption and lack of ethics. “We as parents, educators, NGOs, the Church should really think on the moral formation we are passing on to our children […] Actions speak louder than words and what we do in our private lives reflects on who we are.”

Bartolo makes an impassioned plea to the PN to “stop treating politics like a mud wrestling match” and that both parties made mistakes that threatened to undermine any of the progress they achieved.

Making reference to the civil unions and gender identity bills passed in the past three years, Bartolo said that such events were in line with Labour’s values of acceptance.

Arrigo says Malta should get back on track, “let’s end these stories once and for all”.

“Politicians come and go. I’m no professor, so please allow me to talk frankly. It’s the Labour Party’s right to govern. It needs to take a good look at itself and sort out that confusion it has found itself in … a change from top to bottom.

“Malta must continue moving forward. Let’s stop pointing fingers at each other. People have voted for a future not for these fights. Panama Paper risk losing the trust people and foreigners have in Malta.

“Everyone will be voting according to their party tonight and people will form their opinion … election will come in due course. There’s been a lot of talk about what’s going on but it’s up to the MPs to take action. Talk is cheap. The problem must be solved in here, in parliament.”

In what can be described as one of the more refreshing speeches to be heard so far, Arrigo urged fellow politicians to take decisions in the good of the country.

“I’ve had enough listening about ‘Panama this’ and ‘Panama that’ … why should this government be distrusted? For turning around the economy? For eliminating the list of out-of-stock medicines?”

The veteran MP says the Nationalist opposition – back in 1971 – had also attempted to destabilise the country. “The young ones won’t remember this,” he tells the younger Nationalist MPs. “But the older ones know clearly what I’m saying.”

“What Panamagate has revealed is unjust towards the citizens,” she says, accusing Muscat of only acting to defend Mizzi and Schembri.

“It’s unjust that the Prime Minister chooses to defend his people at Castille instead of looking out for pensioners, elderly and the most vulnerable. The Labour government has lost its social conscience.”

Labour MP Charles Mangion urges the Opposition to criticise the government more constructively.

“Simon Busuttil has acted negatively against every one of the government’s economic projects, but this tactic won’t gain him traction with the people,” he says. “He is still calling the Prime Minister a salesman for promoting the IIP [citizenship sale] programme.”

Parliamentary secretary for planning Deborah Schembri takes the floor and reels off new measures she has improved within the new Planning Authority, including a planning app that was launched today.

Opposition MP Kristy Debono requests the government to commission a study on the costs of the bad publicity that the Panama case has had on Malta, just as it had commissioned Saachi to quantify the publicity effects of last year’s CHOGM and Valletta summits.

She insists that the government – rather than the Opposition – is destabilising the economy and scaring off foreign investment.

“Malta’s tax jurisdiction is constantly challenged in Europe by countries who are demanding tax harmonization. Through this scandal, the government has provided ammunition on a silver platter to those countries who would do us harm.

“I am convinced that the people and foreign journalists realize, heart on heart, know that this scandal was made in Castille under the leadership of Muscat,” she says. “For the last three years, Muscat has constantly said that he is keeping note of his government’s mistakes but the role of a Prime Minister is not to keep note of mistakes but to prevent mistakes in the first place and to immediately correct them when they do occur.”

Parliamentary secretary for active ageing and people with disability Justyne Caruana lists the PL government’s achievements and future plans in her sector and reaffirms her full confidence in Joseph Muscat.

Toni Bezzina is the next Opposition MP in line to claim that the Panama scandal has hurt “genuine Labourites”.

“Unfortunately, Muscat hasn’t realized – or refuses to realize – how serious the Panama scandal is to Malta,” he says. “Transparency International has described Panama as one of the filthiest countries in the world, and the World Bank has warned that set-ups similar to those used by Mizzi and Schembri are common tools for money laundering.”

Labour MP Deo Debattista gives a short speech in which he claims that the expected failure of the Opposition’s failure will be a “victory for logic and common sense”.

“Logic tells me to vote in favour of a strong economy and against turning the clock back to 2013,” he says. “Muscat will solve the Panama Papers problem as he solved the problem of Enemalta, high electricity tariffs and out-of-stock medicines. Just give him a chance.”

Shadow economy minister Claudio Grech adopts a notably different tone from his MP peers and calls for an end to zero-sum politics.

“I don’t believe that any party has a divine right to govern the country,” he says. “I believe in a rational style of politics that is focused on the common good, and I believe that criticism should be based on facts and not conspiracy theories and conjectures.”

He said that the Opposition tabled the no confidence motion to allow Malta to regain its global fiscal reputation. “The people voted Labour three years ago, and we shouldn’t try to undermine this decision in the House. However, an election victory doesn’t give the government has a carte blanche to do whatever it wants or a license to insult people’s intelligence.”

He criticizes the government for not publishing its power purchase agreements from the China-owned BWSC power station and the interconnector, and its privatisation agreement for three hospitals.

“The doubt that the government is facing is all self-inflicted. If these deals are so beneficial to the country, then why doesn’t it publish them?”

Labour MP Joe Sammut defends Muscat for waiting for the audit result before deciding what action to take against Mizzi and Schembri.

“We are talking by trusts, and I cannot understand why trusts are being spoken about as secret objects. Trusts are legal vehicles used for inheritance, leaving your wealth administered by a board of trustees. While some people may abuse trusts, they are often used for legal purposes.”

He says that the Opposition’s frequent use of the word ‘scandal’ has echoes of the 1980s, “when the Opposition used to use that word to describe every minor issue”. Tim Diacono

Opposition MP Robert Cutajar accuses the government of using the state broadcaster PBS as a propaganda machine to give off the impression that all is going well in the country.

“They are painting black as white and white as black, but the reality on the ground is that people are struggling to put food on the table for their families,” he says. “What is the point of boasting of a strong economy, when the majority of people aren’t feeling its effects? People don’t care about numbers but about the well-being of their families, and even genuine Labourites have now lost heart in their party.”

He says that the series of scandals that has plagued Malta since the PL’s election victory proves that Muscat is not fit to run the country. He ends his speech with a quoteby Mohatma Gandhi: “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet”.

He defends Schembri and Mizzi in saying that the two held no money in their offshore structure.

“But are the PN ready to govern? Where are their proposals?”

“Why doesn’t Konrad Mizzi publish the hedging agreement? I ask: who is benefitting from the €14 million? Could there have been someone who received a consultancy or brokerage fee? Could there be someone, perhaps, who found himself in some Panamanian firm?”

Portelli says the government might soon tell parliament of how fuel prices have gone down, “but the reality is that our prices are still high”.

“It is time for Joseph Muscat to go. He no longer has the moral authority to lead this country.

Azzopardi tells government to listen to the “genuine Labourites” and also agrees with Parnis that personal attacks are not on. “Attack the message and not the messenger,” the PN MP adds.

Parnis says the opposition should be “ashamed of its attempts to get rid of Muscat”.

Shouts could be overheard from the MPs as Parnis comments that Busuttil is not inside the House of Representatives.

“You are accomplices to the bloggers who attack my colleagues … You say you’re against personal attacks and, yet, this is what you frequently do. I urge both sides of the House not to resort to personal attacks. There are many of us who do huge sacrifices to be here. Let’s not break families […].”

Bonnici says if he were prime minister he would have acted “within seconds” against Mizzi and Schembri and goes on to add that Muscat cannot sack them “because they’re joined at the hip.

He turns the tables onto Mizzi’s wife – Malta Enterprise envoy Sai Mizzi – and asks what results justify her salary. “I fear that the Huawei investment announced last Saturday is just a knee jerk reaction,” he claimed, referring to the €4.5 million investment.

Home affairs minister Carmelo Abela said that people can now afford to speak about governance as they are no longer worried about ‘bread and butter’ issues - such as unemployment, and electricity and fuel prices. He hits out at the PN’s controversial ‘Cedoli’ loan scheme, that will allow anonymous donors to loan money to the party.

“The Opposition has resorted to destructive tactics, because they don’t have any policy ideas. For the PN, power is an end in itself, which is very dangerous to a democracy. Busuttil is a threat to the country now, let alone if he gets elected to government.”

Opposition MP Ryan Callus diverts from the Panama case and chooses to lash out at the government’s decision to grant ODZ land at Zonqor to Sadeen .

“The government was disloyal to the people – it had promised that Sadeen’s project was a university and it has now turned out that it isn’t a university at all.” Tim Diacono

Labour MP Charles Buhagiar focuses on Malta’s booming property market.

He said that a major ‘Nationalist’ contractor told him that he had recently rejected Busuttil’s request for him to help the Opposition as he has never been so successful in his work.

Parliamentary secretary for animal rights Roderick Galdes says the Opposition is yet to show a single shred of proof of corruption in the Panama case.

“All governments face mid-term blues, but Muscat is willing to take the necessary decisions, unlike previous prime ministers who had failed to take action against ministers accused of corruption. Three ex PN ministers failed to declare their Swiss bank accounts, accounts that had contained millions of euro. Mizzi was humble enough to declare everything.”

Zammit Dimech notes that Spain’s interior minister recently resigned after he was linked in the Panama Papers leaks.

“The government is trying to turn this debate into one about its work, when this has got absolutely nothing to do with what we are discussing. The fact that so many MPs are speaking about other topics, as though this was a debate on the Budget, proves that they are uncomfortable talking about the scandal.

“This is all irrelevant, as no economic success justifies Mizzi and Schembri opening secret companies in Panama. That Economist described Muscat as a rarity in the European Union. It is truly a rarity for a European Prime Minister not to take any action on his minister and chief of staff embroiled in the Panama Papers scandal.”

A few of the documents & emails behind the AFR's Malta #PanamaPapers stories are online https://t.co/B8SZKvbOoR

— Neil Chenoweth (@NeilChenoweth) April 18, 2016

Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis is up next. More gushing praise for the government and criticism of the previous PN administration.

“Lawrence Gonzi used to blame everybody and everything except for his own faulty policies,” he said. “On the contrary, The Economist now considers Joseph Muscat as a model for other European countries.” Tim Diacono

Parliamentary secretary for local councils Stefan Buontempo says that the government has nothing to be ashamed of, citing high economic growth, low unemployment rate and declining poverty figures.

“How can the Opposition table a no confidence motion in the same government that introduced schemes for first-time buyers, closed the Marsa power station, and allowed 16 year olds to vote in local council elections?”

Health parliamentary secretary Chris Fearne warns that the Opposition’s tactics could eventually lead to political violence.

“Look at all the hatred being spewed from certain bloggers, at people saying that Labour supporters have a different DNA, and how the PN organized crowds outside the court so as to pressure a magistrate [over a defamation case against PN MP Jason Azzopardi].”

His comments drew cries from the Opposition benches, with whip David Agius noting that Labour MP Charles Mangion had once passed a similar ‘DNA’ comment and that economy minister Chris Cardona had warned PN MPs that “if the PN come at us with a sword, then we will hit back with a knife”.

Opposition MP George Pullicino hits out at Mizzi’s flagship LNG power station project, claiming that the contract will tie the taxpayer into purchasing electricity at a higher rate than that available from the interconnector.

“Electricity prices were only reduced because the plummet in the market price of oil and the completion of the interconnector project.

He recounted how Mizzi had in 2014 asked the police to investigate him over a PV panel contract under the previous administration.

“After the Gaffarena scandal, Muscat promised to tackle good governance head on. He has clearly not kept his word. Through their actions, Muscat and Mizzi are harming genuine politicians from both sides of the House…”

Parliamentary secretary for competitiveness Jose Herrera says that the Opposition’s reaction to Panamagate has been “disproportionate” and has been criticised by the Archbishops, the President, and President Emeritus George Abela.

“The government has an electoral mandate to govern throughout the full term, and the public will judge us when the next election arrives.

“The government has made mistakes that must be addressed, but this doesn’t legitimize the Opposition’s political aggression and hysteria. I can only hope that, once this sitting is over, prudence and normality can reign in the country once more.”

Herrera warned that the Opposition’s tactics risk damaging the financial services sector and will be judged by the electorate in the next election.

Parliamentary secretary for EU funds Ian Borg also chooses to focus on work carried out in his own portfolio and to criticise the Opposition for their lack of constructive policy ideas.

“The Opposition had the nerve to tell us that we lost the EU funds for the Coast Road and Cittadella projects, when the European Commission itself said that the government had managed to use up all the allocated funds and divert excess funds to other social project…”

Opposition MP Tonio Fenech says that Keith Schembri is the de facto Prime Minister and that all major government decisions have to first earn his stamp of approval.

“Schembri was the brains behind Labour’s election campaign, who Muscat himself had described as his right-hand man. He had also said that his business experience would help increase government transparency…”

He added that Konrad Mizzi has been elated to the role of super-minister, now also Labour’s deputy leader.

Labour MP and sports council chairperson Luciano Busuttil said that the council has become profitable after years of registering debt under the previous administration. He focuses his speech on sports projects carried out under his stewardship. Tim Diacono

Opposition MP Karl Gouder, recently co-opted to Parliament to replace Albert Fenech, suggests that Muscat had been personally involved in Mizzi’s and Schembri’s financial set-ups.

“If Muscat truly wasn’t involved, then he would have been so shocked at the scandal that he would have fired Mizzi and Schembri on the spot as a normal European prime minister would have done,” he said.

He warns that Malta’s crisis has shifted from a political to an economic sphere. “Everybody who works in the financial services and gaming sectors are now worried about their jobs and the future of their sectors. God forbid if these two sectors suffers because of Mizzi, Schembri and Muscat…”

Transport minister Joe Mizzi, in a characteristically emotional speech, says that the Opposition is “undermining democracy” by spreading lies so as to damage the public transport system.

“They said that the company [Autobuses de Leon] wanted to replace Maltese drivers with foreign ones, that drivers’ rosters and salaries are discriminatory, and that disabled people will be unable to board buses on their scooters…

“The Opposition made a lot of noise about the bus contract but when we published it, The Times - a newspaper that is helping the PN out - said that the contract went for high quality.”

Opposition MP Censu Galea challenges George Vella to substantiate his suggestion that the PN could have behind bombs planted in Malta in the 1980s.

“The Panamagate scandal has gripped the nation and has caused Labour to lose the support of people who have supported the party all their lives,” he said. “Some ministers have even gone public in their criticism of the government, a sign that divisions have gone deep. If these ministers vote with the government today, then they will vote for the whole package – the bad as well as the good…”

Foreign affairs minister George Vella recounted how previous Nationalist Oppositions had tried to harm the economy and tarnish Malta’s reputation, as a tactic to destabilize the Labour government.

“The Economist recently praised Joseph Muscat’s policies as an example to Europe of how to progress economically. Who do the PN want to replace him? Simon Busuttil a person without any policy ideas?”

Opposition MP Antoine Borg is up next. He says that Muscat has lost his chance to save face by kicking out Mizzi and Schembri. Tim Diacono

Bonnici questions whether Busuttil will take any action against his deputy leader Mario de Marco. De Marco was revealed by MaltaToday to have only paid contractor Pierre Sladden for construction works on his house in 2011, after his company’s name was thrust into the news after its owner, Pierre Sladden was revealed to have used offshore firms in the British Virgin Islands.

Justice minister Owen Bonnici accuses Simon Busuttil of being the politically weakest leader in the PN’s history. “In the 1,000 days since he’s been PN leader, you can count Busuttil’s proposals on one hand. He lacks any policy ideas and has decided to go down a politically easier route – acting the bully, attacking people on a personal level and humiliating their families."< Tim Diacono

The PN deputy leader questions why Muscat has so far refused to sack Mizzi and Schembri, noting that he had sacked now-Speaker Anglu Farrugia as PL deputy leader for criticising a magistrate and Godfrey Farrugia as health minister for erecting a tent outside Mater Dei.

Fenech Adami says that Mizzi’s and Schembri’s explanations for opening their companies amount to “heresies and lies”.

“Mizzi first said that he opened the company because he married a Chinese woman, a lie that was repeated by Muscat. He then said that he opened the company to manage his two properties – a flat in London and a flat in Sliema. Later, he said that he opened it to manage the rent of his London flat.

He quotes an Australian Financial Review that claimed that Mizzi and Schembri started the process to open their companies a mere five days after the general election.

“While Labour supporters were celebrating victory at the Fosos, Mizzi and Schembri were already thinking of opening secret companies.”

#PanamaPapers:#Malta's Government faces no confidence motion. There is no doubt it will survive vote, but #anticorruption movement will grow

— Roberta Metsola MEP (@RobertaMetsola) April 18, 2016

Joseph Muscat’s footdragging over sacking Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, made his position untenable. @SimonBusuttil @PNmalta @EPP_MT

— T. Comodini Cachia (@ComodiniCachia) April 18, 2016

Today’s https://t.co/6RXHlGLvSg front page pic.twitter.com/TM6MJg8cyW

— Malta (@Malta) April 18, 2016