Farrugia denies compromising partner’s position as Whip by resigning

Now-independent MP Marlene Farrugia has denied that her resignation from Labour has compromised her partner Godfrey Farrugia’s position as government whip.

“Godfey [sic] was prepared for my resignation, and the announcement didn't come as a shock to him,” Farrugia said in Monday night’s edition of Reporter. “He had known about all my positions on policy and governance, he had read all my opinion pieces, and I had personally explained the rationale behind them to him. Whenever I wrote an email of complaint to the deputy prime minister, I always sent a copy to Godfrey as Whip.

“Godfrey and I tolerate different opinions and points of view. He thinks that he can persuade MPs of his beliefs within the parliamentary group, but that route didn't work for me.”

Soon after Labour’s election victory, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told the Farrugias that he would only offer a Cabinet position to either one of them.

“While I disagreed with Muscat’s reasoning, it was his prerogative as Prime Minister and I respected it,” Farrugia said. “Indeed, I instantly suggested that he appoint Godfrey as health minister.”

She recounted her disappointment at Muscat’s early decision to remove Godfrey Farrugia as health minister, arguing that her partner was “dedicated to implementing a health care overhaul, that would have rendered the public health system sustainable without privatising it”.

Farrugia resigned from Labour last week after voting with the Opposition on amendments to the laws that will split MEPA’s environment and planning arms.

On Reporter, she accused the government of having backtracked from its pre-electoral promises – particularly those that pledged transparency, accountability and environmental protection.

Moreover, she said that several Labour MPs were left in the dark about certain government decisions – such as the partial privitisation of Enemalta, the state guarantee to the ElectroGas consortium, and the plans to construct a private university at Zonqor Point.

“We only discovered those plans after they were revealed by the media,” she recounted. “I was always vocal within the parliamentary group about the importance of transparency, but other MPs are scared to speak up due to fear of repercussions.”

She denied that she has now aligned herself with the Opposition, pointing out that she had rejected PN leader Simon Busuttil’s request for her to join the Nationalist Party.

“I have experience with both parties, and it didn't work out for me with either of them,” she said.

However, she said that the PN “appears to have found the light”, and that they “are speaking in a manner similar to how Labour had when in Opposition”.

“Busuttil was extremely courageous to take on the PN leadership after such a heavy election defeat. He truly wants to change the PN, and I believe he is capable of doing so. However, he should be more constructive in his arguments.”

She said that, in Opposition, she had felt more aligned with the political views and ideals advocated by Joseph Muscat, than she had with those advocated by any other Labour MP.

“Muscat is a free thinker, but he must allow himself to think freely without his hands being tied,” she said. “I want him to become the same Muscat who the people elected to government in 2013 with such a large majority.”