Lawrence Gonzi: 'Party's condemnation remains clear, unequivocal'
Gonzi says loss of Cachia Caruana can cost millions to Malta as it negotiates crucial EU framework budget.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi stood by his party's executive committee decision to pass its own condemnation of three MPs whose parliamentary votes strayed away from the official party line.
Addressing a web-streamed activity Gonzi referred to the condemnation of Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Jesmond Mugliett for not voting with the government on the resignation motions against Richard Cachia Caruana, and in the case of Franco Debono, against Carm Mifsud Bonnici, and said the executive's declaration had been clear and unanimous.
He reiterated previous comments made this week that the MPs' actions had their natural consequence, in this case the PN's own official rebuke of the three MPs for having "voted with the Opposition".
The three MPs have remarked they were not informed of the PN executive meeting's agenda and that their votes would be under discussion. Franco Debono said he will contest the decision, but his letter to party secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier has not yet been acknowledged.
On the other hand, Debono this week signed a declaration along with 33 other MPs denying he had expressed the wish to vote against government and with the Opposition to secure the resignation of Richard Cachia Caruana.
Gonzi described the vote that ousted Cachia Caruana as a "terrible experience" that had come at a delicate time for Malta, currently in the middle of negotiating its financial package with the European Union for the 2013-2020 framework.