Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday only had words of praise for Nationalist MP Franco Debono who on Monday gave his first parliamentary speech since his abstention in a vote of no confidence in the government last month.

“Dr Debono behaved well. He gave a good speech in Parliament and made a number of valid points that have been made by other people before, not just him, and which we must all concentrate upon. I think we need to look at this contribution in a positive way,” Dr Gonzi said.

In his long speech during the debate on the Bill amending the EU Act, Dr Debono described himself as a reformist, rather than a rebel and said his disagreements with the Nationalist Party were “ideological”.

But he kept everyone guessing about whether or not he would support the government on future parliamentary votes.