Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said this evening he did not believe MPs should vote no in the vote in Parliament on the divorce bill.
"I believe that to respect the people's decision, that have to either vote yes or abstain," he said on Xarabank this evening.
Dr Muscat said that however, MPs have the opportunity to decide for themselves. There was one MP in the PL who decided he would still be voting no.
When it was pointed out to him that when there had been the vote on EU membership, the PL had still voted no in Parliament in spite of the referendum result, Dr Muscat said this had been a completely different issue since the vote had followed a general election.
The PL had been against membership but it accepted the people's decision to join the EU, it understood that its position no longer made sense and changed it.
The PN was now doing completely the opposite. It took a position against divorce and if it retained it today, it would not be respecting the people's will.
On abortion, Dr Muscat said he was totally against this issue but if there came a time that the people wanted it and voted for it, he would leave.
If he could not accept the people's will he would have no other option, he said.
Asked about same sex marriage, Dr Muscat said he did not believe the state should get involved in an individual's bedroom. A state could not impose love and two people who loved each other should be protected.
This, however, could be a form of civil partnership, not marriage.
"I believe that marriage is a union between a man and a woman," he said.
Dr Muscat said he did not believe a gay couple should have the right to adopt children, for example.
Dr Muscat said that he did not see any problem with the article in the constitution stating that Malta’s religion was Roman Catholic. This was because the constitution also safeguarded freedom of worship.
Asked about his policy for MPs honoraria should he be Prime Minister, he said he would state his party’s policy before the next election. And he would implement what he promises, he said.
Dr Muscat said that a wide discussion was needed of the reform of Parliament and the Constitution. Malta needed a constitutional convention which looked and new concepts and revised others, he said.
Asked about his party’s position on a tunnel connecting Malta and Gozo, Dr Muscat said the PL was in favour of accessibility between the two islands so it could not be against such a tunnel.
He said that if the project was embarked upon by this government, the PL would continue with it and if this government conducted studies which showed the project to be feasible, a PL government would also take it upon itself to implement this project.
On illegal migration, Dr Muscat said that Malta was saving people from drowning and throwing them in a rubbish dump.
Malta had to work to save people in danger but it should use European fora to stamp its feet and insist on its national interests being safeguarded.
The Dublin II agreement was in breach of international law and it should be removed, he said adding that Malta should only take the number of people it could take but it should treat them well.
A major European effort was needed for this issue to be tackled and if necessary use its veto on other issues until the country was listened to.