MaltaToday online poll | 54% say Nationalist MPs shouldn’t be expelled from party

Yet 20% (461) said the three backbenchers should be expelled from the party for voting in favour of the Opposition motions

Not ones to always toe the party line: Franco Debono, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Jesmond Mugliett.
Not ones to always toe the party line: Franco Debono, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Jesmond Mugliett.

The three backbenchers who challenged their government may not be in the good books of the Nationalist Party but are semmingly receiving support from the general public.

The maverick MP Franco Debono, the divorce bill promoter Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and fomer minister Jesmond Mugliett have been condemned by the PN executive committee for not having voted with the government in two crucial motions that saw the ousting of minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici and EU ambassador Richard Cachia Caruana.

A total of 2,279 individual votes were registered on our online poll which asked readers whether the three government MPs who voted for the Opposition motions be expelled.

A strong majority of 54% (1,222) have insisted that the three should remain, having been elected to their seats by the people and not by the party.

However they might also be swimming in dangerous waters as a considerable number - 20% (461) - agreed that Debono, Pullicino Orlando and Mugliett be expelled for having toed the party line and their actions might endanger future votes.

Following closely were a not inconsiderable 333 who while disagreeing with their expulsion, were still in favour of them not contesting the next general elections with the PN.

And acting as a reminder that there are the people out there who do not care about partisan politics, 263 (12%) said that the issue didn't affect them in the least...

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi hasn't ruled out the possibility that Pullicino Orlando, Mugliett or Debono could face some form of expulsion.

"It is an internal party matter for the PN to consider," Gonzi had told the press when asked whether it was being considered to have the three MPs expelled.

Gonzi has reiterated that MPs had to face any consequence to the decisions they take: "They should know that this was a very serious matter that has now brought obvious consequences, and these are the very consequences."

But while the Prime Minister said that the three could have easily defended themselves during the executive meeting, Debono has insisted that he couldn't be present because he was in parliament.

The maverick MP has gone as far as contesting the decision, requesting that the decision of the PN executive be revoked.

On the other hand, Pullicino Orlando - who will not contest the next elections - has been challenged by the PN to declare which MPs he was referring to in his parliamentary speech "who wanted to vote in favour" of the resignation of Richard Cachia Caruana.

Pullicino Orlando however insisted that he would not divulge their names.

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@truthBtold. A highly intelligent comment. Well said.
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Although I am not a natiunal supporter I think that the three renegades should be expell after a general conference meeting
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@ truthBtold.....Very well said ...prosit....
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Expel them from the PN right away. Then they can serve out their parliamentary time as independents and NOT have to touch their forelocks to GonziPN.
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Heqq basta skond gonzipn jghidu kontra tal labour, jekk jaghmlu hekk kul jum, jibqu fil partit. Hekk qallu lil Franco Debono il prim. Il hdura tixghel, basta kontra il partit Laburista.
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An address to the 461 Nationalists hardballs who expressed their wills to have Franco Debono, Jesmond Mugliett and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando expelled from the PN. Be careful for what you wish for, because your suggestion might become the downfall of the PN in a country where its constitution designed to suppress the electorate and appease the old order has become the laughing stock of the European Union. For 25 years we have heard and read about the undemocratic administrations of the 1970’s & 1980’s. At that time the Police were unbridled, murders were common due to cowboy justice, fraud, collusion and corruption ran rampart. Governments that got elected because they won the most seats in Parliament were considered undemocratic, so the power to be; decided to boycott parliament until a revised constitution could be legislated. Fast forward to the last general election and Malta finds itself governed by an administration where the ridiculous constitution amendment rewarded the PN the right to govern with 4 extra seats in Parliament earned by 1000 votes over 13 districts. Over 3000 votes earned by a third party AD had no meaning whatsoever. The average quota to earn a seat in the Maltese parliament is over 2500 votes. The constitution also calls for a parliamentary system of 65 seats but at present there are 69 members of parliament due to the audacity of a demoralizing constitution that serves the higher echelons of society rather than the rights and wills of the people of this island. One must note that FD, JM and JPO were all elected through their constituents by going over the quota. JPO got elected from 2 districts so he laid claim to 2 seats in the Maltese parliament and relinquished one to another PN – MP which at present remains the benefit of a majority that this administration governs with. Now if that is not enough to be the basic plot for a comedy hour and the exposure within the European for a good laugh, then one must be beyond human humour. So these 461 hardballs want to expel their government MP’s because they have spoken out against the democratic deficit that this administration has employed to reign supreme. The facts that 2 Maltese citizens were found dead while in police custody cannot compare with the cases of the 1970’s & 1980’s. The cowboy justice employed at Paceville is simply ignored to appease political friends. According to the wisdom of the gang of 461, one must not question the Minister of Justice even though he is responsible for such shameful administration. Fraud, collusion, corruption, political appointments, salaries increases behind the backs of the citizens in regards the Ministers salaries and Civil Servants appointees are quite easily overlooked. Government entities that find themselves in an investment tangle find it accommodating to swindle their own patrons. The Maltese Christian values are only evident when the Maltese Catholic Church chooses to speak out like for example the case of the divorce referendum. They questioned where the conscience of the MP’s who voted in favour, so one might ask where their conscience was with regards the children of separation denied support or the physical, mental and sexual abuse inflicted upon them because the Maltese constitution did not protect them. The solution is very simple. These 3 brave politicians could be expelled from the PN but they cannot be expelled from parliament because they earned their right to be there through the people in their constituency that voted for them. Let’s all be civil and let democracy in Malta as much as it is constrained by a lame constitution take it’s course. FD, JM and JPO, Malta needs you now more than ever to stop this regime from doing more harm to this country. Besides being financially bankrupt this country needs to find its Christian values all over again and these politicians are the tripod that can hold the lens to provide the true picture. They should sit as independent MP’s in union and come the next election they can be the foundation for a much needed third party in this most undemocratic of all countries run by a junta of civil and religious misconceptions.
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Igor P. Shuvalov
Whatever the polls say, these MP's would not be expelled from the PN as long as Parliament continues to meet and their support is needed by the Nationalist Government.
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Fl`opinjoni tieghi tahwida shiha. Per ezempju Dr.Franco Debono stqarr kemm il darba li irrezenja mil Partit Nazzjonalista...Issa jekk dawn it tlett deputati telaw fuq il biljett tal PN..u gew imkeccija mill l-istess P.N...allura il logika tghejd li ma ghandhomx jibqaw jirraprezentaw lil P.N....Ghax din bhal meta player jigi imkecci mil klabb, zgur mhux ser jilbes il flokk ta l-istess klabb.....Il poplu qeghed fuq ix xwiek halli jara din il farsa kif ser tispicca.Mank hallew it teatru bla saqaf jitlesta....