Opposition leader Simon Busuttil yesterday repeatedly said the Bill to amend the functions of MPs was proof, if any were still needed, that the Government was continuously lowering standards of governance instead of raising them, and the Opposition would be voting against it.

The Government was also breaking its promise of meritocracy by appointing people to boards simply because they were MPs. After long years of campaigning against ministers also getting parliamentary honoraria, this was a hypocritical attempt to give MPs not their second but their third salary besides their jobs and honoraria.

Dr Busuttil said the Bill was “bad, erroneous and scandalous” in the way it was undermining the very important distinction between theGovernment and Parliament, more so because this was being done capriciously.

The Opposition’s duty was to keep the Government under scrutiny. How could any MP sit on a board in the morning and pretend to scrutinise it in the House?

There was no comparison between this and the Government offering the Opposition the Deputy Speaker position, which was a parliamentary role.

Dr Busuttil asked in what capacity MPs would sit on boards. Was MPs’ loyalty to the Constitution or to the authorities whose boards they would be sitting on?

The Bill proved that the Government was saying goodbye to standards, good governance, political responsibility, transparency and seriousness. Its removal of permanent secretaries immediately on election was in breach of EU law, and it was now undermining the judiciary with the removal of industrial tribunal chairmen.

Ministers had not yet declared their assets.

The Ministry of National Security had made one gaffe after another, and now the Economy Minister had overstepped the Privatisation Unit’s selection process.

Instead of saying the minister should not have got involved, the Prime Minister had pinned this on the unit. This was scandalous.

The Bill showed yet again that the PL’s pre-election slogan of Malta Tagħna Lkoll was “dead and buried”.

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