Nationalist MP George Pullicino has decided to retract parliamentary proceedings against Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi, since the House Privileges Committee could never deliver a fair judgment given that it is “controlled by a government majority”.
In a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Pullicino challenged Dr Mizzi to repeat, outside Parliament, the allegations he had made about him so that he could start court proceedings.
In October, Dr Mizzi remarked in Parliament that Mr Pullicino had been the subject of several warnings he had received from businessmen. He made the claim after accusing Mr Pullicino of entering into an unfavourable energy purchase agreement with a private company.
In his letter, Mr Pullicino noted that the Speaker had found Dr Mizzi prima facie guilty of breach of privilege and the case was put on the agenda of the House Privileges Committee.
Mr Pullicino said he decided to retract parliamentary proceedings against Dr Mizzi because he felt there could never be fair and serious judgment by a committee controlled by a Labour majority.
The fair forum for this procedure should be an impartial court, he said, stressing that his decision to withdraw the complaint did not imply that he was dropping his strong objections to what Dr Mizzi had said. But a government-controlled forum was not the place to mete out justice to an MP slandered by a government MP.
The way Dr Mizzi is hiding behind his parliamentary privilege to attack my reputation and integrity is shameful
“The way Dr Mizzi is hiding behind his parliamentary privilege to attack my reputation and integrity is shameful. I expect Dr Mizzi to either retract his allegations, if he is a man, and abide by the Speaker’s ruling, or else to repeat what he said – this time out of Parliament – so that I can start court proceedings immediately.”
In a reaction during a meeting of the Privileges Committee, Dr Mizzi said he stood by his comments and it was Mr Pullicino’s choice to withdraw his case.
Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech said he took exception to the claim that a committee could not decide objectively because the majority of its members came from the government benches.
Speaker Anġlu Farrugia said the Privileges Committee was set up 20 years ago, when its composition was agreed.
Former acting police commissioner Ray Zammit also testified before the Privileges Committee yesterday regarding the case instituted by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat against the Opposition Leader, Simon Busuttil.
Dr Muscat had filed a complaint after Dr Busuttil said the government had interfered to stop police investigations involving former EU commissioner John Dalli.
Mr Zammit said that, during his tenure, he had sent for the investigative team working on the case, who were of the opinion that the case involving Mr Dalli’s former canvasser Silvio Zammit should first be concluded before kick-starting other investigations.
Police have charged Mr Zammit with trading in influence and asking for a bribe.
Mr Dalli has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
The Committee decided that Assistant Police Commissioners Pierre Calleja and Antoine Casha, Superintendant Paul Vassallo and Inspector Jonathan Ferris – who had formed part of the investigative team looking into the case – should be asked to testify during its next sitting.