Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi believes Parliament’s amendments have improved the original divorce Bill substantially but were not enough to convince him to vote Yes in the third reading.
Emerging from Parliament at midday after the Bill was approved, Dr Gonzi praised the procedure used throughout and said Parliament had never seen such a free and open process to enact a law.
The rain drizzled from the amassing grey clouds above as he explained the reason he and some other members of his Nationalist Party had finally voted No even though the Bill had been amended by proposals agreed upon by both parties.
“As always, when there is an issue of principle. Even if the amendments are a great improvement on what we had before, the principle remains,” he said, quickly adding that other MPs were free to interpret their voting duty in a completely different way. In fact, members of the PN were split in three groups, with a number of them voting in favour of the Bill or abstaining.
Dr Gonzi, who has always said the Bill could never guarantee maintenance as implied in the referendum question, said he was pleased Parliament also improved things in this area, even in separation cases.
Dr Gonzi said he voted against the clause introducing divorce in the country, consistent with his principles.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader Joseph Muscat accused the Prime Minister of “once again” undermining the people’s clear verdict in favour of divorce.
Dr Muscat said it was “inexplicable” for Dr Gonzi to have voted against amendments agreed upon by both parties. These were not points of principle, he argued.
Asked why anti-divorce MP Adrian Vassallo had not shown up for the final vote, Dr Muscat said this was a free vote and Dr Vassallo had every right to take this decision but denied putting pressure on him to stay at home.
“The Labour Party has remained compact, clear and consistent from day one,” he said.
Numerous attempts to contact Dr Vassallo to find out the reason for his absence proved futile.
Dr Muscat called for the strengthening of mediation services and said the government had until October to prepare the courts for an influx of divorce cases.
“Let’s hope we do not have another Arriva,” he said, referring to the troubled transition of the new bus service.
Meanwhile, former Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola, who has been campaigning for divorce for decades, said this was a positive day that vindicated his party’s stand and said it increased equality and tolerance.
He said Parliament handled the whole issue horribly from day one by first not having the courage to decide and then allowing MPs to vote against the referendum, including the Prime Minister who asked the people to decide.
In a statement, AD welcomed Malta’s joining the rest of the world and pointed out that divorce had been introduced thanks to its petitioning of MPs last year.
“Dr Gonzi’s No vote shows not only that his confessional outlook is out of synch with contemporary Maltese society but, above all, it shows that, for him, the divorce referendum and parliamentary procedures were merely mathematical means in a futile attempt to keep Malta without the basic civil right of divorce.”
In a statement, the PN welcomed the fact that the public’s will had been adhered to, as promised by the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party accused Dr Gonzi of “losing the plot”.