The political waves created at the end of last year are set to merge into the new one as the people wait for the Prime Minister's next move with regards to the Franco Debono situation.
The Nationalist MP said this morning that his declaration that he will cease to support the government in Parliament should the Prime Minister not keep his promise to split the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry by the end of the year (2011) "should be interpreted and understood in a reasonable manner".
Parliament, which is currently in the Christmas recess, is to reconvene on January 18.
Speaking on TVAM, Dr Debono insisted that there was no wavering at any time from his position.
The issue of justice reforms, he said, did not start just before the Christmas holidays but before the summer and there was ample time for it to be resolved.
"I have been very loyal to the party and the Prime Minister. I have been one of the most loyal MPs over the years... I spent 10 years as a candidate when I could have given much more to the country. But I never complained and continued to work hard," he said.
Dr Debono said that before commenting on technical issues, the people should first carry out some research.
For the issue was not about a split in the justice and home affairs ministry, the split was just the beginning.
"This fusion between justice and home affairs is being reflected in a number of issues including that of the inquiring magistrate."
To date an inquiring magistrate who investigated cases with the police also judged cases in which the police were a party.
"There is no separation of power. I have been calling for this since 2008 because it is unacceptable that a magistrate heads police inquiries and then judges cases where the same police prosecute," he said.
Dr Debono said this was not a personal issue with Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, whom he respected, but about necessary reforms for which time was running out.
"A society that does not treasure the core values of justice and the separation of powers and rule of law can have serious problems," he said.
Dr Debono also referred to inadequate libel laws and called for the repeal of criminal libel.
"Whilst respecting freedoms of expression one must also respect the right to reputation.
"Reputation and the dignity of the person are considered as extensions of the physical person and society must attribute a respectable value to that by ensuring adequate libel laws."
It did not make sense that one wins a libel suit and gets just €2,000 to €3,000 because of a very low maximum set by the law. Such rates did not take recent developments in communications into account, he said.
He called on the people to comment on and discuss ideas which were crucial and fundamental rather than waste time on personal attacks, which had surely marred the Christmas spirit.
"These are important reforms that should be carried out before the election," he said.
Dr Debono also referred to the right of legal assistance to arrested persons, which he said should not have been introduced 20 years after the frame-up of Pietru Pawl Busuttil but well before.
This was one issue for which he had campaigned and the people eventually understood the importance of that reform, even though this might not have been the case in the beginning.