Updated - PN council meeting - Austin Gatt gets a standing ovation

Nationalist MP Franco Debono insisted today that no presenter should be allowed to use PBS to push his own personal agenda, unfairly attack people and hide what some people were doing.

Speaking in the concluding session of the PN's General Council meeting this morning, Dr Debono said PBS had some good presenters on Dissett and Xarabank but on other programmes, no one should be allowed to use PBS for his own personal agenda or that of his clique, to harm others unfairly or hide what some people were doing. Such people he said, should be condemned, especially when complaints were consistent.

Dr Debono said he had made sacrifices and taken tough decisions in defence of his beliefs but he was not prepared to surrender his dignity. The Broadcasting Authority, as the regulator of broadcasting, needed to be strengthened.

Dr Debono reiterated his calls for institutional and constitutional reform and also suggested that the PN should set up a forum for its candidates .

He also called for a party funding law, greater autonomy for parliament and an updated procedure for the appointment of judges.

The people, he said, were above the political parties and it was important, therefore, that they learned more about the rules of the political game.

Strengthening democracy, Dr Debono said, would made for greater stability in the country.

Other early speakers included Nationalist MP Joe Falzon and Ian Castaldi Paris – the former head of the PN's College of Councillors, who drew applause when he reiterated his pride in being Nationalist.

Other speakers were Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi,  MP Philip Mifsud, Carol Aquilina, Stephen Spiteri and Charlo' Bonnici.

Jean Pierre Farrugia, who chairs a parliamentary committee on the family, welcomed Budget measures and the proposals on the family contained in the PN document on basic beliefs. He augured that the MCESD would find agreement on extending maternity leave. He suggested that in social housing blocks, where there is no access to sunlight and therefore no possibility for tenants to benefit from subsidies on solar heating, they should get subsidised heated water.

Dr Farrugia also insisted that timelines on the commissioning of the new electricity cable to Italy should be respected. He said he had been told in parliament that the cable would be commissioned before the end of next year, but now it appeared this would be extended. Enemalta, he insisted should explain and complete the project as soon as possible so that the Marsa power station could be shut down.

He was followed by David Agius, whip of the PN parliamentary group, who underlined that the PN gave a voice to everyone, but loyalty in one's behaviour and actions were also important.

David Casa praised those who were responsibile for the proposals made for the updating of the PN's basic beliefs in the context of a changing reality. He focused his speech on drawing contrasts between the economic situation here and in other European countries. He also recalled the situation in Malta 25 years ago  when Raymond Caruana was shot.

Other speakers included Education Minister Dolores Cristina, MP Francis Zammit Dimech, Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono, Resources Minister George Pullicino and Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco.

CHEERS FOR AUSTIN GATT

Transport Minister Austin Gatt was greeted with loud applause as soon as he took the podium. He said one felt proud to be Nationalist, and he welcomed the document on the party's roots. The PN, he said, was saying where it stood and where it was going. The PL, he said, was a supermarket where one could choose what suited him, for political ends, but there were no price tags. For example, labour was saying it would bring down the power tariffs, without saying where prices or taxes would rise elsewhere.

A political party could not be everything for everyone, Dr Gatt said. And it was better to take a position than to sit on the fence.

The divorce issue was not an easy one for the PN, he said, there were differences within the party and he disagreed with the way how the matter was moved.  But the party showed it was not fossilised. It showed it was not a religion, those within it could argue freely and the PN had given a lesson in democracy. Dr Muscat praised Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi for taking tough decisions.

He said loyalty was important. He was not elected because he was Austin Gatt, but because he was a PN candidate. True, there was need for change in party and national structures, but loyalty was important and when the PN decided, Nationalists should follow the party.

Dr Gatt reiterated that he would not stand for the forthcoming election, but if the party wanted him, he would be in the counting hall, as he had been since 1976, and his two sons would be with him, Dr Gatt said to a standing ovation.

Dr Gatt was followed by Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and Simon Busuttil MEP.

PN General Secretary Paul Borg Olivier rounded off the speakers. The meeting was presided by council president Paul Mifsud Bonnici.