Former minister Louis Galea is to be nominated Speaker when the new session of Parliament opens on Saturday, the Prime Minister has announced.

Dr Galea will serve for at least two months until the post is discussed with the new leader of the opposition after the MLP leadership election. The government has invited the opposition to nominate one of its MPs as Speaker, subject to a pairing agreement. Dr Gonzi said that should no agreement be reached in those talks, Dr Galea will remain in the Chair for the legislature. He was, however, prepared to step down if agreement was reached.

Dr Gonzi said the government was prepared to see Labour MP Carmelo Abela retain his post as Deputy Speaker for these two months but it would expect him to step down if no agreement was reached by that time on pairing, since the appointment of an Opposition MP as Deputy Speaker was always linked to a pairing agreement.

The opposition has said that for the coming two months it will consider pairing on a case by case basis. Pairing is an arrangement whereby opposition MPs are 'paired' to government MPs and will not vote in the House if the government MPs are away on official business.

Dr Galea was an MP from 1976 until the last elections, when he was surprisingly not returned.

He was a minister in all Nationalist governments since 1987, holding the portfolios of social policy, home affairs and more recently, education.

Dr Galea was an active member of the student movement in his university days and headed the PN youth movement before serving as party general secretary between 1977 and 1987, where he distinguished himself for his organisational skills.

Dr Galea succeeds Anton Tabone, who served as Speaker for two terms.