6.20pm Updated with PN statement
The government and Opposition this afternoon failed to agree on Parliament’s agenda for next week.
Agreement was especially hard to come by when MPs discussed when to debate Marlene Farrugia’s motion of censure against the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri, as well as the Opposition's motion protesting Speaker Anglu Farrugia's amendment of the aforementioned motion.
The House Business Committee met with urgency this afternoon and despite a heated debate that sometimes verged on a shouting match, both sides failed to budge, leaving both sides agreeing to disagree.
The government is proposing a debate on the Opposition’s appeal motion on Tuesday evening and a debate on Marlene Farrugia’s motion of censure on Wednesday. However, the Opposition disagreed.
The Opposition wants the appeal on the Speaker’s motion debated on Wednesday May 25 and Dr Farrugia’s censure motion debate at the next possible Parliamentary sitting – Monday May 30.
Independent MP Marlene Farrugia said these motions were of national importance and enough time had to be allowed between the two for the people to understand what was happening.
The government had originally proposed debating the appeal motion on Wednesday morning and Dr Farrugia’s motion on Wednesday evening but the Opposition disagreed, prompting it to request Speaker Anġlu Farrugia to convene the House Business Committee with urgency, especially since he will be leaving Malta tomorrow to attend a meeting for European Speakers.
However, although the government’s position had changed slightly, this was not enough for the Opposition, leading the two sides to agree to disagree.
The government has the prerogative on the Parliamentary agenda so the agenda will proceed in accordance with what the government was proposing.
On Monday, Parliament will discuss the transposition on a law on consumer affairs and the law on tribunals on Tuesday.
In a statement, the government accused the PN of being "the first opposition in history to first present motions only to then dally when it comes to debating them."
It said the Opposition's unwillingness to debate at the earliest possible sitting made it clear that the PN was "motivated by partisan games, rather than a sense of urgency."
'Parliament is not a rubber stamp' - PN
A PN statement accused the government of "maliciously and deceptively" trying to bundle the two contested motions together, despite them concerning different matters and having been presented by different MPs.
"The Labour Party is desperately trying to shut down debate about the Panama scandal in two days," the PN said, adding that it considered the government's attitude in today's meeting to be that of a government "which is threat to democracy."