The Nationalist Party and the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday lashed out at Labour after its news channel claimed the Prime Minister was planning to sack Justice Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici and cite health reasons.
“Labour leader Joseph Muscat has proved, once again, what an unscrupulous and shallow party he leads,” the PN said, referring to an item on One News saying Dr Mifsud Bonnici was likely to be replaced by Nationalist MP Beppe Fenech Adami.
“Dr Mifsud Bonnici is in hospital but this did not stop his (the Labour Party) media from stooping so low as to fabricate a shallow and scandalous story on him,” the PN added. Labelling the Labour Party “shameless, cold and highly unethical”, the PN accused it of taking unfair advantage of the minister’s health situation.
The PN, which accused Dr Muscat of having a hand in the “disgusting” story, said this went against the PL’s code of ethics that had now been exposed as a “superficial exercise, typical of Joseph Muscat”.
The Office of the Prime Minister said One News used the minister’s health to “fuel speculation without the slightest sense of compunction”.
“Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici will undergo an operation in the coming days, followed by a short period of recovery. The opposition’s attitude is unethical and abhorrent and shows the levels it is prepared to stoop to in creating false stories and speculation.”
When asked for an account of Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s health, a ministry spokesman would only say he was in hospital.
It is understood that Dr Mifsud Bonnici is suffering from complications of an infection in the gut which requires surgery.
The PN’s youth movement expressed solidarity with Dr Mifsud Bonnici and accused the PL of shameful behaviour.
Reacting to the criticism levelled at it, the PL said Dr Muscat was not a political commentator or a journalist and the PN’s statement was petty. “If it wanted to be taken seriously it should have slammed people from within the government’s rank who are openly criticising the fiasco in this sector,” communications director Kurt Farrugia said.
“What does the Prime Minister have to say about Franco Debono’s tirade against the same minister, especially since Dr Debono is the Parliamentary Assistant in the Prime Minister’s Office?”
He said the party was politically at loggerheads with the government over the administration of justice and home affairs issues but was not after anybody’s “head on a silver platter”.
“The issues we are raising politically have been a problem for months on end and not just problems we are facing now.”
Mr Farrugia said that while Dr Muscat did not interfere in the day-to-day management of One News, journalists had a right to pursue a story if they believed their sources were correct.
“On the other hand, it is the Prime Minister who should be ashamed of himself when recently he maliciously insinuated things about (deputy leader) Anġlu Farrugia when he was away attending to a family member’s health issue abroad,” the PL said.