All smiles now: Anġlu Farrugia and Joseph Muscat during their recent meeting at Castille. Photo: Reuben Piscopo/DOINew Speaker Anġlu Farrugia said he had mended bridges with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat after he was forced to resign as Labour deputy leader just days before the start of the election campaign.
The resignation had triggered a vociferous reaction from Dr Farrugia, who accused Dr Muscat of political assassination in an interview with The Sunday Times two months ago.
Dr Farrugia said he settled the issue with Dr Muscat before accepting the appointment as Speaker, adding that his relations with the Prime Minister were now “very good”.
“(The issue with Dr Muscat) is now acqua passata [water under the bridge]. Whatever had to be cleared with the Prime Minister was done to our mutual satisfaction,” he said.
Dr Farrugia, a former police superintendent who served in the force in the 1980s, was forced to resign before the electoral campaign, ostensibly over comments he made about a magistrate’s political motivations.
Whatever had to be cleared was done to our mutual satisfaction
However, his resignation was largely thought to have been brought about due to his poor performance during a television debate against Nationalist deputy leader Simon Busuttil.
Dr Farrugia had accused Magistrate Audrey Demicoli of political bias because she had cleared a restaurant owner of vote rigging in the March 2008 general election. A day later, Dr Muscat told a news conference he had asked Dr Farrugia to resign because his comments were “out of place” and “undermined one of the country’s highest institutions”.
Six weeks later, Dr Farrugia broke his silence in an interview in The Sunday Times in which he said he had been backstabbed by Dr Muscat.
In the interview, Dr Farrugia said he had even been informed that Dr Muscat had planned to keep him out of the deputy prime minister’s post if elected to government.
“Unfortunately, Anġlu Farrugia was so loyal to Joseph Muscat that he gave him total leeway and didn’t realise he was being stabbed in the back.
“This is like calling your best friend over and then shooting him in cold blood. It was political murder,” he said.
Dr Muscat had declined to comment on the declarations, insisting only that Labour’s doors were always open to him.
Dr Muscat decided to make amends with Dr Farrugia by offering him the post of Speaker, a move that was harshly criticised by the Opposition.
In a conciliatory tone, Dr Farrugia began his term as Speaker last week by apologising for political wounds he might have inflicted and vowing to steer clear of partisanship.
Earlier in the week, Dr Farrugia called on Opposition leader Lawrence Gonzi and later, Dr Muscat at Castille.
He said: “The relations between Dr Muscat and I are very good and both of us acted in the national interest.”