PN takes anti-divorce stance and says 'no' to referendum unless bill is passed in parliament

Nationalist Party in U-turn on referendum on divorce, issues statement saying it will only decide to go for referendum if a bill for divorce is supported by the majority of MP's in parliament

9 February 2011, 12:00am

3 min read

The Nationalist Party yesterday announced its executive committee and MPs will be voting on Saturday on a party motion that will be "in favour of the family and against the introduction of divorce".

The PN signalled its intention to vote in favour of the 'anti-divorce' motion, and said it would allow MPs a free vote on the divorce bill presented by Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando but that a referendum would only take place if the bill passes through parliament.

Party secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier said in the statement that divorce "was not an idoneous way of how to promote family values."

The PN issued a statement outlining it views to a bill moved by PN backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando.

The motion reads: "1. Notes that there is unanimous agreement that the family unit is the cornerstone of society and therefore it deserves total, firm and consistent support so that it can continue to be strengthened.

"2. The committee reaffirms the consistent political position of the Nationalist Party that the family in Malta should be built on permanent marriage between a woman and a man, which marriage is the best structure for a stable family environment for the children. The PN therefore reiterates its commitment to take whatever measures are necessary to strengthen marriage preparation and to facilitate family life.

"3. The committee recognises that there are circumstances which lead to the break-up of marriages, with detrimental consequences to the family, the children and society.

"4. In such circumstances, the committee declared that the solutions which the State should seek should give top priority to the interests of the children. All measures should therefore be constant with this purpose.

"5. The committee notes that according to the most recent census published by the National Statistics Office, in 2005 the vast majority of the Maltese had a stable marriage. The census showed that 60% of residents of Malta were married, 6% were widowed and 4% were separated or divorced.

"6. For these reasons, the committee declares that the political position of the Nationalist Party should remain in favour of the unity of the family and against the introduction of divorce because it feels that the introduction of divorce is not the best way to promote the value of the family since divorce changes the definition of marriage as being a permanent bond.

"7. The committee recognises that within the Nationalist Party there are contrasting views on the introduction of divorce but it believes that the debate now needs to be concluded while respecting the different opinions.

"8. The committee also notes that no political party in Malta has the electoral mandate to propose legislation for the introduction of divorce and, therefore, the parliamentary approval of a Bill for the introduction of divorce should not be enough for the law to come into force and this should be confirmed through a referendum.

The committee therefore recommends to the government that:

"a) Parliament should, as soon as possible, discuss the Bill for the introduction of divorce.

"b) Should the Bill be approved by a majority of the House, the coming into force of the law would be conditional to approval by referendum, held within two months of approval of the law by Parliament.

"c) The committee also recommends that the Prime Minister and leader of the party should allow a free vote to the Nationalist MPs so that they may vote according to their conscience in all stages of the passage of the bill."

The motion which is bound to be supported by the majority in the PN parliamentary group is exactly what the Labour opposition was hoping for.

Labour senior officials were also meeting tonight to discuss their strategy to a scenario in parliament that could seriously embarrass the Prime Minister within his party and electorate.

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I agree with allowing a free vote. No one should vote against their will. It will also be clear for me who will be left out of my ballot paper. But for Gonzi to say that no political party has a mandate to legislate is a ridiculous. What about when they signed up Malta in PPF, and the many laws passed in Parliament on a daily basis? Can anyone pls tell which of these laws where actually asked for by the ppl. They surely did not have a mandate for PPF and nobody knew until it was a fait accompli. So pls no lame excuses, the PN is still controlled by the church and they cannot afford to irk this dominant institution. The PN don't have the balls to do what's right. Holding a referendum is the easiest way to do a pontius pilate and wash their hands and let a minority issue be decided by the majority.

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I still agree with Joseph's free vote because it will ferret out those who don't deserve our vote so we could settle accounts in the next general election. Divorce will be introduced some time or another.

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Don't ask much of JPO he's a pansy in Samson's clothing, like all the backbenchers who rebelled for some excuse or other. Give them their lolly and they'll soon cici down.

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gonziPN slogan DIVORZJATI LE -- POGGUTI IVA.

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If I am not mistaken one of the reasons for an annulment is mental instability. Says much on certain particular cases.

Alfred Galea •

Sharon....LOSING... I still say Muscat should forget about a free vote in the house, rein in his MPs and replace any traitors...that's the way the PN play the game, either by threats or by bribes. The church and its shepherd Mikey Gonzi lost 50,000 sheep plus their descendants 50 years ago, it's gonna lose a lot more this time.

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Did anyone seriously think or ever consider that the PN would ever make life easy for the pro divorce movement or for that matter any movement or idea that is surfaced that respects the educated , enlightened free human spirit? Does no one understand that religion , in this instance the Roman Catholic Church means nothing but control of the mind ? These gentlemen in collusion with their skirted buddies will do anything to preserve the iron grasp of the Church on this tiny Island state. It is that marriage between the Church and the PN that has enabled the latter to continuously stay in power , control the minds of the people and exert its influence across all strata of modern Maltese society with the exception of the very wealthy who have the benefit of living on this Island acting like expats. Minds will eternally continue to be manipulated and warped by the influence of the Church in this country. Has no one ever realised that the PN is nothing more than a foot soldier to the Church ? On a different note and this applies to all , the Maltese are a wonderful , kind , hard working race , however we are also amongst the most bigoted , hypocritical and envious lot around. We have no one to blame but ourselves for having elected this party which is controlled by the Church and presently managed by some of the most mediocre , selfish and ill educated people ever to Govern this Island. Do not ever expect the masters of spin and hypocrisy to make a stand that goes against the Church. Many decades from now JPO may have a statue in a leafy square somewhere possibly honouring him as the father of Maltese free thinking democratic liberals , but it will be many many decades from now and only after the PN as a party is consigned to the ash heap of history and in its stead perhaps a newer , more enlightened and less insipid party is created.

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The PN just sealed their faith in loosing the next general election. Well done Gonz. This is a clear message that the PN is controlled by the church and will do what the church dictates. Rest assured you will always have the nuns and priest behind you on election day.

Paul Sammut •

Gonzi and his henchmen have brought the PN down to mean Partit tan-N...jk! X`par idejn sod dawni. Mela le! Nara x`nghamel nerga nivottalu!

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JPO ara ma jfettillekx taghmel bhal ma qallek Proud Maltese u tirresenja mil parlament HEKK irid Gonzi taghmel HEKK ha jehles hafif minnek .Kull ma ghandek taghmel hija JPO li TUSA l-aqwa ARMA li ghandek billi tghid lil GONZI li jekk ma tghaddix TIEGHEK rigward din il bicca ta DIVORZJU TIBQA fil parlament imma meta tigi ghal VOTAZJONI TIVVOTA kontra GONZI u IBQA CERT LI TIEGHEK TGHADDI JPO FTAKAR JPO li din l-elezjoni li gejja ser ikun kemm KAMPANJA QALLILA KONTRIK BIEX TIBQA BARRAU IN NIES MA JIVVOTAWLEKX GHAX INT XEWKA GHAL GONZIPN

Micheal Bonanno •

I'm having a sort of deja vu. Remember the EU campaign? Well, I think this is going to be a replica of that campaign. This time the PN is on the NO side.

Alfred Galea •

Joseph Muscat and the PL should now come out in favour of divorce and rescind the free vote and tell his MPs to vote along the party line, otherwise his own MPs are gonna give the PN/NO side another victory.

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The people should demand a consultative referendum first and then a free vote in parliament. But i guess no one has the balls to start a petition or go out in the streets because the PN have labelled that uncool. Back to the 60s with Gonzi

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The PN have decided to kick start the election campaign despite the fact that only three years have passed. It just might be that they will also go for an early election hot on the heals of this divorce issue. They know that on nearly all fronts they are loosing ground but this has provided them with an opportunity to snatch another victory. The referendum will never happen because of the few labour MPs who are too blind to see that they are being used. They are also too blind to see that even if they vote yes in parliament it will still be the people who will decide. These labour MPs will only prolong the issue if they vote no and they will have to face the issue once again in the next election. If these hand full of MPs are truly democratic and believe in their constituents they have only two options. Either resign from Parliament now or vote yes to allow the people to decide. It will not be a surprise if JPO makes a big U turn when you if you as Labour MPs serve Gonzi this opportunity on a plate As for the PN well shame on you for bringing politics into the issue and for using innocent people for your political whims. Back to the 60's

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Ara tlieta mit-tfal ta' EFA malajr gabu l-annullament, imbaghad jekk ma jkollokx kuntatti tajbin jew ma tkunx it-tifel jew tifla ta' xi hadd bhal EFA iddum is-snin itertqulek qalbek. Dawn huma l-oxxenitajiet li hawn f'Malta.

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Prim Ministru li jrid ifarfar mir-responsabbiltà minkejja li qed jiehu salarju doppju u zieda doppja ta' 1,000 ewro (500 fuq kull salarju). Qum ja poplu kontra dal-hnizrijiet bhal ma ghamlu pajjizi ohra.

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There must be some hidden agenda behind this. There are nice words like defending family values, religion, bla, bla. Probably this is a desperate ploy to try to get the opposition to give its opinion. The best thing that can be done at the moment is to ignore the government of this banana republic! and let it come up with all its desperate hidden things. The public know how to decide for themselves. Another thing is that this is again another ploy to distract the public from the ever increasing problems in society that are of a more serious nature. The truth is that the national debt is increasing alarmingly. Most corporations are seriously bankrupt. Air Malta is in dire straights! Many things are unsustainable. Manufacturing work is in rapid decline. How can the public be kept distracted. This is very simple to do using the divorce debate and coming up with hot arguments.

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fis-sittinijiet kien hawn arcisqof, fis snien elfejn hawn Prim Ministru it-tnejn Gonzi, u ibqa cert li ghad jiltaqu fl-aldila

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1. a referendum is, as far as i can understand, a consultative one. 2. how can parliament vote and then consult the public? 3. let us assume that 30% will vote for a divorce legislation and 70% will vote against. Parliament will have to decide if it is to prevent that 30% from gaining access to a divorce option as applies in the rest of the world. This is not a first past the post exercise. What we needed to know is how the pn is to interpret the consultative referendum. But with the 'parliaentary vote before consultation' stance, the whole consultative process has been, in my opinion, ridiculed.

Jeff Cassar •

But in favour of cohabitation?

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jahasra, imma kemm ser iddumu ma tindunaw. il-partit nazzjonalista bil-fors kontra dawn id drittijiet tal-bnidem . qed jghidhu gha xinkella tispicca li zwieg jigi ghal dejjem, vouldire : till death seperate us! ovja li kulhadd hekk jixtieq! IMMa! l-affarijiet mhux dejjem hekk kif nixtiequhom ahna. ghaliex ezempju z-zwieg isir bejn zewg persuna allura.... di li nghidu and they lived happily ever after, HIja HRAFA! issa nerga nghid u dahluha f'raskom u xerdu ma kull rokna tal-pajjiz , forsi xi darba mohh il-magoranza tan-nies jinfetah! MALTA HIJA IMMEXXIJHA MIL-VATIKAN HIJA L-UNIKA PAJJIZ FL-UNJONI EWROPEA LI L-ANQAS HAWN LIGI TAD-DIVORZJU! dan mhux ghax il-PN irid Hekk LE!!! izda ghax ilVATIKAN IRID HEKK< u il-PN Ikollu jisma bil-fors- mela sakemm Malta tibqa ikkontrollata mil-vatikan, ADDIO EQUAL RIGHTS. DIN QALHA HADDIEHOR WKOLL AQRAW FUQ DIN IS_SITE X"QED JGHIDHU FUQ MALTA SHABNA L-EWROPEJ . Malta Malta shows what can happen when the Vatican effectively controls the country: it is the only member of the European Union that does not allow abortion or divorce http://www.concordatwatch.eu/showsite.php?org_id=13541

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In Any other European Country the PN's stance would cause outrage except in stone-age Malta where this decision will probably be celebrated...eveything other nations fought to have in their democracies we throw away without a whimper, IGNORANCE is the gasoline that this Govt. engine runs on and it is a resource that will never run out on this Island.

Luke Camilleri •

Kapaci jiehu decizjoni dan il-Prim Ministru? Kif sejrin jiffuttaw tal-Gonzipn b'xi sms? U hallina Prim u ghidilna kif ghamel Dwardu biex gab l-annulamenti forsi jkollna direzzoni!

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Also, as far as going against divorce and in stand in favour of strengthening of the Family... why not outright declare that Annulment, Divorce granted from foreign countries, and Separations are NULL and not applicable to the Maltese families?? At least that way they can be taken to be substantial in their stand...

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I would like to note that this stand is not only against divorce... As stated in the following excerpt from their stand: "the family in Malta should be built on permanent marriage between a woman and a man" This means that this stand is not only against Divorce, but also against Same-Sex Marriage... They're trying to hit two birds with one stone...

Isabelle Borg •

ghal min ghandu l-flus u jgib divorzju minbarra,OK. Separazzjoni,OK Annullament OK. Divorzju Malta,LE. Veru gvern tan-n***. Diskriminazzjoni klassika. Nispera li il-moviment tal-hekk imsejjha progressivi iqum mir raqda li rieqed u juri kemm hu veru progressiv. Jew kulhadd ghadu jibza mil- ostra knisja?

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The divorce issue is of national interest and a Referendum is vital for democracy! Who likes that Air Malta remains our National AirLine visit us on "Support AirMalta" on facebook. Updated every 3hours on the drastic situation at our Company. Make Like to support us the workers in such difficult time. thankyou.

Pauline Moran •

Jeffrey...issa uri minn liema stoffa int maghmul....issa int trid turi li mhux paroli biss ghandek izda li kapaci tieqaf ghal min qed jipprova jkissrek u jirredikolak...Dan mil partit tieghek stess!! Dak il 'backing' li tak il partit tieghek Jeffrey!!!!....int ghandek is sahha ti twaqqa li dan il gvern bil vot tieghek...MELA MUR U WZAH!!!...Bhal ma wzawk huma!!!! IF YOU WANT A PLACE IN HISTORY...NOW ITS YOUR CHANCE DEAR JEFFREY!!! THE POWER OF ONE. THE FREEDOM OF THOUSANDS!

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mela lil membri parlamentarise jaghtihom vot hieles, imma jekk isir referendum johrog lis-sorijiet tal klawsura ukoll mal qassisin. Baqa l-istess il-partit nazzjonalista ta zmien Terinu.

Pauline Moran •

THE PN IS THE 'NO TO RIGHTS' PARTY - THE PN IS THE 'NO TO REALITY PARTY' THE PN IS THE 'STUCK IN TIMEWARP PARTY' THEY WANT YOUR VOTE BUT THEY DO NOT WANT TO GIVE YOU YOUR RIGHTS! NEXT ELECTION SAY...... 'YES' TO YOUR RIGHTS! SAY......'NO' TO PN!

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When i die and St Peter meets me at the pearly gates i'll tell him Gonzi told me to shack shack and more shack.

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din mhix sorpriza ta. mela mhux haga li jaf bija kull min hu f'sensih li l-partit nazzjonalista bicca wahda ma-knisja! mhux min dejjem jekk kienu dawk ibda mis-snin sittin meta dawk iz-zib*l ta zijuh l-arcisqof mikiel gonzi kellu d-dritt min alla li jidfen lil-laburisti fil-mizbla! dawk hekk huma, hobza u sikina mal-knisja. issa nivvutalek aktar PN ;-) issa naraw biex hiereg il-partit laburista, fuq li qal il-PN li huwa kontra ligi tad-divorzju. ifhem lawrence gonzi MPs etc.. in nies xorta kienu gahdhom jghamlu l-affari taghhom- ghax hajjitna u daqshekk, " CUC u Iblah min jivvutalek sakemm ma jkunx kwista xi haga minghandek allura johrog ilsienu biex jilghaq :] haqna ghax l-ewwel wiehed jiena kont nivvutalu. imma l-bniedem gieli jkollu ghajnejh maghluqa ghal diversi ragunijiet.. meta gew ghat tessera biex ingeddida diga ghidtilhom "LE"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christopher Briffa •

Let's see how the usual apologist bloggers will try to dress this up and still convince the party faithful that the PN is not a conservative party. The issue of divorce has shown up the PN for what it truly is, an extreme right wing socially conservative party with no room for any differing opinions.

Keith Goodlip •

So it seems that the vatican's henchmen are going to stitch this up to suit THEMSELVES. I thank all my gods that they are teaching me the wisdom of atheism!

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1.maltese people are sheep. 2.maltese people rely on their goverment. 3.maltese people make the Members of parlament their Gods. 4. maltese people don't know how to fight for their rights on their own initiative. they need all fom the politicians. 5.maltese people are living a lie, all over the world knows what is going on there. 6.you are all being treated like fools.they are laughing at your back and you will still vote for them while you don't know how to protests for your rights. 7. you are too weak to make a good protest even a pacific one. you are all led by the nose.never you did a real protest ,been many years over 50 or more years since. 8. now lower your heads and kneel before your gods, and on sunday go to church so they laugh at you all. slaves

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All the vulgar words below are simply idiotic. You do more harm than good. The issue is simple. By declaring its back to the anti-divorce stance, the PN is returning the 1960's favour back to the Church. What goes round comes around they said. The most probable scenario is that now the PN will bankroll the Anti-Divorce campaign, with the Pro-Divorce campaign left out in the cold as it will not have a major endorsement. PL has not comitted to full backing of Divorce as hopefully, it will not put Party Politics and Next Government issues mixing up with this issue. Whether they like it , or not, in a few years enough people will come to their senses so that divorce is introduced, maybe without even calling for a referendum. Pity that the Census will be done in November. It would have shed some real light on the status of families, and probably would have given a much more worrying statistic about the number of separated couples co-habiting with their new partner, and maybe even having more kids form their second relationships. All being disrespected by Greed for Power.

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BRING THIS GOVERMENT DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE PEOPLE OF TUNISIA ARE AWESOME AND EGYPT, AND AFTER THOSE MORE WILL BE -LIBYA ETC. HERE THE MAJORITY OF THE PPL ARE TOO WEAK AFRAID -GOOD TO SWEAR ONLY UNITED TOGETHER MAKE BIG PEACEFUL ;-) PROTESTS ABOUT MANY ISSUES OR STAY HOW YOU ARE BEATEN ON THE BACK AND SAY THANKS PERHAPS THE HISTORY OF MALTA EXPLAINS ALL MALTA WAS ALWAYS A SERVANT OF THE FOREIGNS ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. A ROCK IN THE MED SEA WITH FULL OF HYPOCRISY

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look at him with asarcastic smile -hopes he have a severe pain in his chest- lolllllllllllllllllllll damn you

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this was NO SURPRISE I predicted this! as the snakes the catholic church and the PN works hand in hand! they have been studying this alot,with the snakes came suggested this idea :) don't be surprised with the MPs :) at least Malta hopes that we don't have a mojority of ridicolous MPs lollllllllllllllllll It's a pity for Malta that we have to see these ridicolous MPs which we the maltese citizens elected in parlament the maltese are too quite -they are being led with carrots from both parties(the majority) hahahhahhaaaa the laws are made to be broken lawrence gonzi and all MPs you can kiss my ASSS :D F8ck You

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The Party is running scared. As is the Catholic Church. Both instituions know that their days are numbered. They will be punished in good time. What concerns me is that the time might come when ordinary decent human beings will bypass the political parties and take justice in their own hands. This is indeed a government that cares little about the will of the people.

Alfred Galea •

Manny....."enough signatures were collected"......big difference. Only mickey mouse governments, like the one we have, would enact laws about shacking up and not about divorce. What these holier than thou hypocrites are saying is...it's ok to shack up after you leave your wife/husband and we'll have laws to protect you BUT there's no way you can get married again. This from the pro-marriage party, no marriage, just shacking up. Again MICKEY MOUSE.

Chris Tanthi •

Joe, Italy enacted the law in 1971, and it was confirmed by a referendum - held precisely because enough signatures were collected - in 1974. It would have been a mockery of democracy, were a fundamental change to the way a country manages family relations were to be be foisted onto the people without as much as a hint of a mandate.

Alfred Galea •

Manuel, do you know of any country except Ireland that had a referendum on divorce?? Do you know of any other country that had a piece of legislation passed in the house and then had a referendum to sort of approve it?? Do you know of a party in government who comes out against a bill but then gives its MPs a free vote?? When it only has a one seat majority?? As with everything else around here, this is mickey mouse politics.

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Tal PN poggew id-divorzju fl-arena politika ta ahna kontra huma. Id-divorzju huwa bzonn ghal minoranza li jixtiequ t-tieni cans f'hajjithom. li ma nistax nifhem hu kif partit favur il-familja u kontra id divorzju ser jillegisla fuq l-koabitazzjoni jew ahjar il pogguti? Voti qabel drittijiet?

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My oh my! A free vote! And Joseph Muscat was demonized for having proposed that way back in 2008, while running for election as MLP leader. And what "position" is this...a political party say it believes in this and that, but then says it will allow its MPs to vote how they wish. Very inconsistent I have to say. A perfect case of squaring the circle. Imagine a political party saying it's in favour of EU accession, but then says it will allow its MPs to have a free vote! Some party! Well, the chips are falling into place finally. That is for sure.

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In the present circumstances, unless the Opposition is made up of absolute idiots all its members should vote to have the people decide in a referendum. Dr Adrian Vassallo, wake up and be sober. This is not about your religious beliefs but about a game initiated by the hypocrites inside the pseudo-Christian PN. Vote with your brain not with something else, Dr Vassallo and don't let Gonzi and Co take the mickey out of you. After all, it is only fair to let the people decide in such a societal issue. After all, EFA, who like you dislikes divorce has suggested the referendum method to be carried out. If you block the idea in Parliament you will only be playing into the hands of the incompetent Gonz letting him have a field day in the easiest way possible.

Chris Tanthi •

Joe South and Skoċċiż, I don't think one can equate the introduction of divorce with most other measures taken including that of the idiotic decision to raise to Ministers' salary. Remember the PL itself is in favour of a referendum, almost certainly because it is aware of the magnitude of the initiative - and the way a decision one way or the other could affect society. I find it very difficult to to reconcile the idea of a the endorsement by popular vote of Parliamentary change of a matter as fundamental as the regulation of family life with the popular conception of a banana republic. There is another point to consider: even if Parliament were to decide to introduce divorce , it would only be a matter of time before those opposed to the decision would gather enough signatures to force a referendum, as our Constitution allows.

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awn fejn JPO andu Juri li vera ragel u dak li qed jigilled ghalih iwettqu bil provi!! ghamel bhal sihbek austin gatt, u ghid lil gonzi li jekk icahhad dritt demokratiku lil Poplu int tirrizenja mil parlament!! min hu lawrence gonzi biex jideccidili xnamel b'hajti? u fuq kollox b hajtek ghaziz JPO ax int ressaqt din il proposta fil parlament. Lawrence gonzi hawn cahhad dritt demokratiku lil persuni li Qedighn Igarrbu u ghadejjin min dan il kalvarju. u ghamel bha tunezija u l-egittu dan hu gvern anti-demokratiku. ohrog il bocci JPO bhal ma Ghamel Siehbek austin gatt u ghidlu biex jekk icahhadna dan id dritt int tirizenja!

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I have to say, this makes Labour look like right knobs.

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The PN know that the numbers in parliament will not be enough for a referendum. there are only two Pn MPs who will vote in favour but there are about 5 PL who will vote against. This way it will be blocked and the issue taken to next election. They once again will use the church to tell people note to vote labour and therefore they stand a chance to win again. You see the issue is not divorce for them. They do not care about the couples who want to move on but it is another 5 year term . BAck to the 60s.

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@ Manuel Mangani Can you provide examples of double confirmation in western democracies, especially one with a vote in Parliament preceding a referendum if the initial vote is successful? This smacks of a banana republic.

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@ Manuel Mangani And will the rise of €600 to Ministers and €1.10c to the rest of the working population, which was also not included in the manifesto, go to a Parliamentary vote and a referendum?

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Prim Ministru IPOKRITA ghax kien hemm hafna affarijiet i ma kinux fil-programm elettorali. Biex il-Belt bla xatba, il-PArlament tal-pulcinelli fuq is-saqajn twal, it-teatru bla saqaf, il-pont tal-breakwater, il-progett tal-Menqa tal-MArsa u hafna hnizrijiet ohra kienu jew le fil-programm elettorali tieghek Gonzi? Sewwa kien hemm wiehed li fit-ToM kien jirreferi ghailk bhala GONEZI.

Alfred Galea •

Manuel, is that right? What about all the other projects and controversial initiatives which did not feature in the PN's electoral manifesto?? Don't they deserve double confirmation?? Thing is the PN wanrts to suck and blow at the same time, just like a whore-block. The least they should do is have a referendum, no matter how the vote in the house goes...that way both sides have to win two votes, not just the YES side. I call this the usual slimey PN way of doing business. If he loses the vote in the house Gonzi will call upon his masters, EFA and the RC Church to re-enact the 60s.....damn all those who vote for divorce to hell.....EU state my ass.

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beam me up scotty...........

Chris Tanthi •

Joe (South), a major and controversial initiative which did not feature in the parties' electoral manifesto deserves double confirmation before it is enacted.

Alfred Galea •

Bonkers Joe, you're bonkers.

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Joe S, you are so obsessed, you are beginning to make me think you will go to heaven. I mean, you see religion in absolutely everything. Incredible

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Jsouth, your obsession with religion is bordering on the obsessive. Don't you have anything else to comment about. You are obsessed man! you're gonna blow a vein or something. Calm down.

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Well, I never thought I would say this but the GonziPN bunch came up with a fair deal. Now come on PL, take a stand. I know it is a pro-family one.

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Fair indeed; so for divorce to be introduced it would have to be approved both by the parliament and subsequently by the electorate in a referendum. Whereas all it takes for divorce to be denied is a failure at any of the two hurdles. Is this a case of creating as many hurdles as possible to support the party stance?

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L-aqwa il-voti! Xi principji principji, l-ewwel jippriedka mod u issa jaghmel mod iehor. Indecisions are the parent of failures!

Alfred Galea •

[b) Should the Bill be approved by a majority of the House, the coming into force of the law would be conditional to approval by referendum, held within two months of approval of the law by Parliament.] Heads I win, tails you lose. The YES side has to win two votes, the no side only one. If it's defeated in the House have another vote...maybe you'll get lucky and get enough priests/nuns/laypersons/senior citizens to get you out of the shit and you'll be able to go to heaven. What a joke.