Chris Said’s motion for an independent inquiry into allegations by Daphne Caruana Galizia about public officials won the full backing of the Nationalist Party’s parliamentary group, a spokesman said.
The motion, he added, was expected to be on the agenda of the next House Business Committee meeting so both sides of Parliament would decide when to debate it.
The party spokesman was replying to questions by the Times of Malta in connection with a parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday.
Dr Said’s Private Member’s Motion was perceived in certain quarters as an attempt to undermine Adrian Delia’s leadership.
The Gozitan MP denied such claims insisting his intention was solely to take concrete action on the investigative work of the journalist who was killed in a car bomb attack last month.
Dr Said, who lost to Dr Delia in September’s PN leadership race, is calling for the setting up of an inquiry board composed of three retired judges.
Among other things, they would look into the conduct of all public officials who had been the subject of blogs uploaded by Ms Caruana Galizia.
The move raised eyebrows because Dr Delia himself could be among those under scrutiny as Ms Caruana Galizia had alleged he was involved in money laundering activities through a London-based prostitution racket.
Dr Delia had sued Ms Caruana Galizia for libel but he dropped the lawsuits following her assassination last month.
The controversy escalated further when it transpired that the contents of the motion had not been debated within the parliamentary group though Nationalist MPs had been notified of his intention by Dr Said himself.
He had discussed the motion’s contents with the PN leader and his deputy, Mario de Marco, prior to tabling it.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Tuesday welcomed Dr Said’s initiative, also deeming it a positive development.
PN sources said the controversy had spilled over to the parliamentary group and was the subject of a highly-charged debate. However, during Wednesday’s meeting it was amply clear the majority of MPs were backing it, the sources noted.
“While Dr Said’s decision to table the motion without prior discussion in the parliamentary group was debatable it would not have made sense to exclude Dr Delia from the remit of the inquiry,” they added.
“Consequently, the only way forward was to approve the motion lock, stock and barrel, given that the majority within the parliamentary group were in favour.”
Prior to Wednesday’s meeting, Dr Delia had declined to take a stand on the motion, saying he would only do so following an internal discussion. The PN spokesman said yesterday Dr Delia had also welcomed the Prime Minister’s initial reaction.