Live TV transmissions of Parliament were supposed to be an act of transparency but ended up fracturing the “amicable” atmosphere between MPs, Joseph Muscat believes.
In a first crude assessment of the sharp confrontations witnessed in Parliament over the past few weeks, the Prime Minister yesterday said MPs were acting for the cameras.
Speaking on One Radio, Dr Muscat said Parliament had become a television programme that people watched and urged MPs to lead by example.
“I am noticing – and this is my analysis at a glance, and I hope I am mistaken – that in the old Parliament the situation was more amicable. The fact that we are now on television has prompted some to act [for the cameras] by trying to show what a bully they are by shouting.”
Including both sides of the House, Dr Muscat said everyone had to learn and understand that people were now following Parliament on TV and it was important that MPs led by example.
He urged MPs to act cautiously and hoped that the cooperation that existed in the past would not be abandoned because of the TV cameras.
The live streaming on TV of parliamentary sessions has been partly blamed for unruly behaviour by some MPs since the opening of the new building at Valletta’s City Gate. Speaker Anġlu Farrugia also warned he would rekindle old Standing Orders and expel members for unruly behaviour after various incidents that provided for a social media sensation.
The fact that we are now on television has prompted some to act [for the cameras] by trying to show what a bully they are by shouting
The confrontational attitudes have ranged from Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi screaming and ignoring the Speaker’s orders to stop, to Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg calmly saying that the Opposition’s questions did not give him an “orgasm” (a comment he later apologised for) to the Opposition adopting a position last week that saw the vote on the planning authority demerger drag on until 3am.
Commentators who spoke to this newspaper earlier this month pinned down the seemingly higher dose of confrontation to the presence of TV cameras in the new chamber.
Turning to the opening of an office by Huawei, a Chinese global technology provider, he said he could not understand the Opposition’s decision to denigrate everything.
Huawei Technologies would not compete with mobile phone operators, he added, as he lectured on the possibilities created by Huawei’s 5G mobile technology.
Countering criticism that the investment presented no value, Dr Muscat said the agreement was a first for Huawei with a government in Europe and would serve to open the door for more investment. “It opens possibilities for the future.”
He allayed fears that Huawei would compete with established providers Vodafone, Go and Melita, saying the Chinese company’s competitors were firms like Apple, Nokia and Blackberry.
“The communication providers are glad to have Huawei here because it could use their platforms to test 5G,” Dr Muscat said during an interview on One Radio.
5G was the mobile technology of the future when home appliances would “talk to each other”. “The oven would communicate with the microwave and the mobile phone would control the washing machine,” Dr Muscat said.
Huawei will also consider opening a data recovery centre to back up their operations in other countries, Dr Muscat added.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com