Franco Debono reiterated this morning that he will not support a prime minister who is 'being held hostage by a restricted clique.
He made his comment to timesofmalta.com shortly after MEP Simon Busuttil said on Ghandi xi Nghid on PBS that yesterday's edition of Xarabank, in which Dr Debono participated, gave him some hope that the current situation could yet be resolved.
"I have made it clear I will not support a prime minister held hostage by a restricted clique. That is very dangerous for a country and its people and destroys the fundamentals of democracy," Dr Debono said. "The only hope is that whoever is responsible for the current unacceptable situation assumed responsibility and resigns"
Last week, Dr Debono had said that the prime minister of whoever was responsible for the current situation should assume responsibility and resign. Otherwise, he would not support the government.
Yesterday and this morning he stressed that he is the victim of a wrong political system, but he stressed that he was not the only victim, but society and the people at large were victims too of this bad system. "Democracy is the most fundamental value of a society and it is evident that this country needs urgent and fundamental reform which will change this political system and culture," he said.
With reference to claims, made several times during yesterday's programme, that he was being used by Labour, Dr Debono said he was a man of principles and if anything it was the PN which should have treated him better according to his loyalty and merits.
"One of the fundamental principles of social justice is meritocracy - that people are treated according to their talents and not exclusively according to their connections.
"Labour is taking advantage not of what I am saying but of the incompetence shown by whoever is running the country, whether it is the prime minister, the clique or both," Dr Debono said.
The MP made reference to an interview given to The Sunday Times last Sunday by the prime minister and said it clearly showed that the prime minister's considerations were those of appeasing his ministers even elevating some who had performed badly in the past years.
In the interview, Dr Gonzi said with regard to Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici that while he had removed justice from his portfolio, he had given him local councils and the minister has been "elevated" to Leader of the House.
"Cabinet posts should not depend on who your father is or whether your cousin is the prime minister's adviser," Dr Debono said, in what could have been a reference to Edgar Galea Curmi, the prime minister's chief of staff, who is Dr Mifsud Bonnici's cousin.
Dr Debono noted that the right to legal assistance during interrogations had still not been introduced, the police were still without a union and the prison reform was still on paper.
Last Tuesday on Bondi+ in a passionate and strong performance, Dr Debono said the prime minister had known for months that he was in complete disagreement with Dr Mifsud Bonnici's attitude towards justice and home affairs. He said it was nothing personal, but an issue of policy.
In December 2009 Dr Debono, a prominent criminal lawyer, abstained from a vote in parliament in protest for the fact that Dr Mifsud Bonnici had still not implemented and enforced the right to legal assistance for arrested persons, which had been enacted in parliament seven years previously.
"We have a situation where possibly, all police statements prior to February 2010, are in breach of fundamental human rights, and this has already jeopardised a number of cases," Dr Debono said.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici was elected from the third district at the 2008 general elections after having failed to be elected from the second district, traditionally his electoral base.
See also
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120113/local/i-am-a-victim-of-a-bad-political-system-franco-debono.402200