Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi did well to vote the way he did on the divorce Bill once he was asked to pass judgment on something that was a matter of principle, according to Labour MP Adrian Vassallo.

The outspoken MP, who did not attend Parliament for Monday’s sitting when MPs voted in favour of the law introducing divorce in Malta, said Dr Gonzi was an MP just like him and, therefore, was entitled to be consistent with his anti-divorce position from the beginning.

“I agree with the way he voted. He is an MP like me and his vote is not worth 10 of mine. The mistake was that something that was a matter of conscience was taken to a consultative referendum. If need be we should change the Constitution and introduce a binding referendum,” he said when contacted yesterday.

His opinion on Dr Gonzi’s vote is diametrically opposed to that of his party leader, Joseph Muscat. Dr Muscat said Dr Gonzi’s vote against was “inexplicable”, seeing as he was voting against amendments agreed upon by both parties.

Dr Vassallo, who also happens to hold the record for the worst parliamentary attendance, said he had not been pressured to stay at home on the day of the crucial vote and that he had informed no one about his decision to stay away.

“In principle, I am against divorce so it was superfluous for me to attend and vote against something that had already been approved in second reading. I think it would have been ridiculous. I was not interested in what happened in the third reading, the nitty-gritty and the details,” he said.

Although technically MPs could have voted against the Bill, there was no turning back after it passed through the second reading, he argued.

“I saw it a bit strange to attend and vote against because it’s like I am voting against my own colleagues who proposed amendments, so I didn’t see any reason why I should go there and vote no. Going there and abstaining? Might as well not attend at all.”

Asked whether he had seen the final version of the divorce law as amended, he replied: “I have no interest. I do not give a s***.”

He said the divorce law would have implications on other laws that now had to be changed, including the law on pensions and inheritance.

“These are things that should have been explained before and this is why I think the referendum is null. The no camp had a hopeless campaign and the Church confused people with threats of sin, which is very subjective,” he said, noting, as some government MPs have done, that 90,000 people did not vote in the referendum and many of those who did not vote were against.

As to his political future, Dr Vassallo said he would “suffer the consequences” of his decision not to toe the party line, quoting Dr Muscat’s reacting to his no vote in Parliament. Asked what these consequences were, he said: “I have no idea. Go ask Joseph Muscat.”

“There are still two years left before the next election. Now we wait and see what the consequences are. I don’t care and I don’t bother worrying about these things... I will only contest if I know I will be elected but if the party works against you, you stand no chance of getting elected,” he said.

Does he think the party will work against him?

“One hundred per cent. I am not progressive enough and neither moderate enough. I will be and am being pushed aside by the party. No one speaks to me. I just sit there, quietly. No one threatened me from my party but I do not fall within the definition of the new movement.”

What Dr Muscat is creating “is a movement not a party because a party has its principles... Everyone is being allowed in like sheep and goats as long as we win. I am sorry to see my party (going down this road). You cannot accept everyone, without any vetting. Those who are being pushed most are the turncoats. Others, like me, are sidelined and the turncoats are raised sky-high. Turncoats do not come because they love the party but because they hate the others. And they will come with a shopping list; a list of requirements. A turncoat will not cause trouble now but in two or three years’ time when the party gets to government. This is not the way to do things,” Dr Vassallo said.