Making myths about pairing

I refer to the article Myth, Reality And Deceit by Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg (July 25).

As myth number 1, Dr Borg describes what according to him happened during the 1996-1998 legislature to make the then PN Opposition withhold its pairing. Dr Borg writes: "Pairing was only withdrawn when in a fit of spite and folly, Dr Fenech Adami, then Leader of the Opposition was on the insistence of the then Labour government, forced to attend Parliament to pilot an opposition motion even though his doctor had instructed him to spend a period of rest at home owing to a potentially serious medical condition."

For somebody who decries myths and deceit, Dr Borg has indulged in some myth making of his own, to put it mildly.

When the incident to which he refers arose, at no stage was the Labour side informed that Dr Fenech Adami was unable to attend Parliament to pilot his own resolution, because of illness. We were simply told that Dr Fenech Adami would not attend the meeting and somebody else would present his motion, for which special parliamentary time had been allocated by the government. No other explanation was given by the PN then, even when pressed.

In the circumstances, we informed them that under Standing Orders we would contest the validity of the debate carried out in the absence of Dr Fenech Adami. Then Dr Fenech Adami turned up in Parliament and the PN made a big play about the "heartlessness" of the then Labour government, a deceitful myth which Dr Borg repeats.

Had the then PN Opposition informed us about the reason for Dr Fenech Adami's absence, we would naturally have accepted the situation and proceeded with the motion in his absence. I should know, for I was then, as now, Labour's Chief Whip.

However, it would seem that at the time, due to internal turmoil within the PN, they would have preferred to keep Dr Fenech Adami's health condition under wraps for a while.

So much for Dr Borg's credibility when it comes to myths, reality and deceit.