Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has written to Opposition leader Joseph Muscat seeking agreement on the divorce referendum question and the referendum date.

The letter was announced shortly after Opposition whip Joe Mizzi gave notice of a motion in Parliament calling for the House to debate on Tuesday a motion calling for a referendum on the introduction of divorce.

The motion for the holding of a referendum was presented last Monday by Opposition leader Joseph Muscat and includes a referendum question based on the divorce bill tabled by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Joseph Muscat. (see http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110214/local/opposition-motion-calls-for-referendum-before-divorce-debate )

In his letter, Dr Gonzi told Dr Muscat that as he had told him yesterday in their cordial meeting, the issue of divorce was a very important one since it involved the institution of the family.

This placed a major responsibility on politicians.

He therefore believed that they should try to agree on the method how this subject was handled, even if they disagreed about the substance, enabling the people to decide in a serene manner.

Dr Gonzi said he was proposing two amendments to the motion presented by the Opposition: The first involved the time line. The opposition had proposed that the referendum should be held within 40 days of the publication of the writ, thus avoiding a clash with the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows and Easter. However, Dr Gonzi said, he felt this period was too short, and he therefore proposed that the referendum be held on May 28.

Secondly, Dr Gonzi said that Dr Muscat's motion for the holding of the referendum showed that his own parliamentary group was not completely in favour of the Divorce Bill. He therefore felt that in the referendum the people should be asked a straightforward question of whether or not they agreed on the introduction of divorce.

MPs would then be able to vote freely according to the views expressed in the referendum and according to their conscience.

Dr Gonzi also proposed that the debate on the motion for the holding of the referendum should start on Wednesday, concluding by March 16.

See letter in full by clicking on pdf below