Franco Debono saga fires up the internet

The Franco Debono saga has sparked the sort of intense online debate which was last seen during the divorce campaign.

Thousands have joined, or been added to Facebook groups calling for Dr Debono’s resignation and tens of people have left comments on his Facebook wall, many calling him a party traitor and asking him to resign.

But Dr Debono has also received some support from Facebook users – including from many Labourites and disgruntled Nationalists.

One Facebook petition, set up to show support for Dr Debono, amassed more than 600 signatures yesterday – still a far cry from the almost 2,600 that joined another calling for his resignation.

Meanwhile, an actual petition calling for his resignation, which is said to be circulating in the fifth electoral district – from which Dr Debono was elected – is being conducted door to door.

Pietru Pawl Busuttil, a Nationalist mayor of Safi, described this as a grassroots initiative without any formal organisational structure backing it. He could not say who the individuals behind the petition were and how many signatures had been collected until yesterday.

Dr Debono has also become the butt of many jokes, particularly about the fact that he showed off his Form Two mid-year report card to show he was a brilliant student. Many have posted their own old report cards, asking if they qualified for a Cabinet position.

The issue even earned itself a Hitler-spoof video, as had happened during the divorce referendum, where a famous Hitler outburst scene from the biopic Downfall is subtitled to get Adolf Hitler talking about the subject. The video has been used worldwide for everything from American politics to British football.

In this particular video, Hitler is angered by Dr Debono’s antics because they will trigger an election and the economy will crash, causing ġbejna prices to skyrocket. At one point he says:

“Even I studied with the Jesuits, and look how I screwed up Europe!”