Gonzi to descend on JPO’s constituency

In a public dialogue this morning, Gonzi said "We cannot focus on divorce and forget everything else such as stability and economic progress. 

Present at the talk are Minister for resources and rural affairs George Pullicino and MP Beppe Fenech Adami.

The move comes in the wake of a politically convulsive week as the Prime Minister struggled to keep up with the constant pressures from within his own benches over the divorce issue.

On Wednesday, Gonzi had to give in to Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s intransigent position during the House Business Committee, when he challenged Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg to hold a parliamentary debate next week.

Two consecutive rulings by Speaker Michael Frendo saved the Prime Minister from losing his majority in the House, as Pullicino Orlando made it clear that he would have been voting in favour of a Labour motion that called for a referendum on divorce, together with the questions to be put to the electorate.

Senior government and PN officials slammed their hands on tables as they witnessed an impotent Prime Minister falling victim to a constant shifting of goalposts.

Just as Lawrence Gonzi attempted to bridge the divide by personally meeting and then writing to Joseph Muscat and proposed a simple and generic question to the electorate that did not reflect the bill but rather on a straightforward position on the introduction of divorce, Pullicino Orlando stood his ground.

Gonzi and Pullicino Orlando continued to lock horns on Thursday, when the two met at Castille and discussed the way forward.

As he emerged from Castille following the meeting, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando attempted to diffuse the tensions and growing media speculation that government stability was at risk.

“This is about the introduction of divorce in Malta and nothing more. I will never threaten the stability of government and don’t want to bring the government down,” Pullicino Orlando said, but he added: “should the referendum question be reduced to a generic one, then I would prefer to campaign for a ‘No’ as it would practically give any government the right to introduce a Las Vegas style of divorce.”

As the Prime Minister waited for replies from the Opposition, came a bolt from the blue: a police report was filed by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Labour MP Evarist Bartolo, claiming suspicion that their cell phones were tapped.

This morning Lawrence Gonzi intends to blitz Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s village. It’s where the MP he grew up and where his family is mostly known.

Gonzi – who will be accompanied by his wife Kate – never visited Attard and will be taken around homes, clubs and cafe’s around the locality.

Lawrence Gonzi will also deliver a speech at the Attard PN club, which committee is made up mainly of Pullicino Orlando’s canvassers.