The Nationalist Party’s conflict with Franco Debono cannot be left “hanging in animation” but needs to be dealt with one way or another, fellow backbencher Jean Pierre Farrugia has said.
“We cannot have a situation where the government is presenting controversial Bills (such as cohabitation and IVF) without addressing the underlying issue of governability,” Dr Farrugia said.
The first available opportunity comes on Monday evening, when the party’s executive committee convenes to discuss an appeal by Dr Debono against its decision in July to ban him from contesting the coming election.
“It’s not easy, I appreciate, but this thing needs to be addressed,” Dr Farrugia said.
His comments come in the wake of an urgent private member’s motion which Dr Debono filed in Parliament on Thursday, calling for the reversal of government’s policy to have the new power station extension in Delimara run on heavy fuel oil. Instead, Dr Debono calls on Enemalta to run the plant on a cleaner but more expensive fuel.
Yesterday, the Għaxaq MP followed up the motion with a letter to the executive committee in which he reiterated his claim that its decision to ban him was illegal because it did not follow the party’s own procedure laid down in its statute and because he was not given the opportunity to defend himself.
The party appears to be split internally over how to deal with Dr Debono. Several MPs contacted yesterday preferred not to comment; however, members of the executive who commented anonymously had a different take on the scenario.
“I don’t think this issue with Franco (Debono) should be brought to a head so late in the legislature. Now that we have come so far, I feel we should reach an acceptable compromise with him to be able to govern till the end of the legislature,” one source said.
But others advocated decisive action. “In any eventuality, the government is facing an election in November or in March of next year. The party should do what needs to be done with regard to Franco and then leave it up to him to see if he wants to coalesce with Labour to bring down the government.”
The Opposition has not committed itself on how it would vote on the motion but the party has long been criticising the whole power station extension project and the decision to power it with heavy fuel oil.
Similarly uncommitted was Dr Debono’s fellow dissenting backbencher Jesmond Mugliett, who said: “I’ll say what I have to say when the time comes.”
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who resigned in July declaring himself an independent MP, said he had asked for a meeting with Dr Debono to review his proposal.
However, he would not go into the merits of the PN’s dispute with him. “I am not a part of the PN anymore and it should be up to the PN to sort out its problems with Franco,” he said.
PN Whip David Agius said he would be discussing with the Prime Minister, who returned yesterday from a short holiday, whether to convene the parliamentary group to discuss the motion.
“That said, I don’t see the urgency of this matter. Parliament is not scheduled to reconvene before October 1,” Mr Agius said.