Muscat and Busuttil meet at Sette Giugno commemoration

Political leaders laid wreaths Tuesday evening at the foot of the Sette Giugno monument in Valletta, marking the anniversary of June 7th 1919, when four Maltese men were shot dead by British troops during a series of riots by the Maltese population.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and outgoing leader of the Opposition, Simon Busuttil sat side by side during the ceremony, which was moved inside the Palace courtyard at short notice due to the threat of rain. The two political rivals said nothing to each other during the event, bar a solitary light-hearted exchange upon taking their seats.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anglu Farrugia delivered a speech to the assembled political representatives, in which he outlined the parliamentary work he carried out during his term as Speaker. 

He said the past legislature had been a busy one for his office, not least because he “had been determined to see reforms take place in the interest of transparency and democracy.”

“We have just been through an electoral campaign and a general election during which... apart from news, we have heard and read a lot of denials; where often the same news is described as untrue; nowadays popularly referred to as ‘fake news’.” Farrugia said this was not a new phenomenon, pointing to a report on the events published in a Milan newspaper at the time.

“When one reads this article, one may be led to believe that what took place on the day happened because Malta wanted to become Italian or align itself closer to Italy. Everyone knows that this was not the case.

“This means that similar to what sometimes still happens nowadays, a news item is used to influence the popular sentiment concerning facts, in a way which may not be entirely correct, just as happened in this case, when the news item was spun in such a way as to mislead the public opinion as to the real intentions and reasons behind this event.”

Farrugia said he observed with satisfaction that with the introduction of the Parliamentary Service Act the Maltese  Parliament had “finally joined national parliaments from around the  world who have long been enjoying administrative autonomy from the Executive.”

The Speaker also thanked those who contributed to the promulgation of the Standards in Public Life Act, saying it “should raise the level of accountability which all Members are duty-bound to uphold with respect to the electorate.” The Act introduces a standing committee and a Commissioner on Standards with the power to investigate breaches of statutory or ethical duties of persons in public life.

Farrugia repeated his 2015 call for the introduction of a mechanism to address complaints by citizens who felt aggrieved by statements made about them in Parliament.

There was more to be done in further strengthening of the institution, he said. “We have made progress but there are still goals we need to achieve.”

Observing the achievements, he said “all of this makes us worthy of being of service in this highest institution of our country; this should fill us with hope to achieve a level of service which addresses the ever increasing expectations, always in the interest of all the Maltese and Gozitan population.”

A bugler detachment of the Police Band, played the Last Post, followed by a minute of silence. A wreath-laying ceremony at the foot of the Sette Giugno monument in St. George’s square, followed.