Nationalist Party general secretary Paul Borg Olivier yesterday officially declared himself against divorce.
He also chipped in on a debate between PN protagonists on whether the party should take a stand on the subject, saying it would be “irresponsible” for the party not to take a stand.
Speaking on the PBS current affairs programme Dissett, he said the party would take a stand but would not be telling members how to vote in a referendum. Similarly, MPs would have a free vote in Parliament. His statement comes at the end of a discussion within the party executive about the subject. About this, he said there had been a very mature and intense discussion over five meetings, which were prompted by the surprise tabling of a Private Member’s Bill on the introduction of divorce by Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. Meanwhile, the pro-divorce movement, which Dr Pullicino Orlando co-founded, yesterday reacted to the insistence of Transport Minister Austin Gatt for the PN to take a stand, saying if the party took a stand on divorce it should also make its position clear on cohabitation.
The movement pointed out that, according to Dr Gatt, the nationwide discussion was “about the family not divorce”. The movement said it agreed with that.
“It is a fact that, with all the best of intentions, some marriages break down irreversibly. New relationships are formed. These, too, are families. We assume that the aforementioned resolution, apart from indicating what stand the Nationalist Party is going to take with regard the Divorce Bill, will also indicate what stand it will take with regard to a law regulating cohabitation, which is also going to be discussed in Parliament in the coming months,” the movement said.
“Divorce and remarriage were not mentioned in the PN electoral programme for the last general election. Cohabitation wasn’t mentioned either. These two forms of relationship are the two options available to couples wishing to form a new relationship after their frst marriage breaks down irrevocably. It’s about the family, not divorce,” the movement said.