Muscat dodges questions on Anglu Farrugia’s ‘backstabbing’
Labour leader refuses to directly answer on statements by former deputy leader.
4 February 2013, 12:00am
Miriam Dalli
Miriam Dalli
1 min read
Too busy to take questions on Anglu Farrugia...
Labour leader Joseph Muscat has steered clear of answering any questions on statements made by his former deputy leader Anglu Farrugia, who yesterday told the Sunday Times he had been stabbed in the back by the party leader.
Muscat was adamant about not answering questions on statements by Farrugia of the party's proximity to big business and building developers, but only said that the statements were "a matter of interpretation".
"We have no problem working with the private sector - we are not going to be a party for the few."
When asked specifically over Farrugia's claims that he had been stabbed in the back, Muscat refused to give a direct answer to the press.
His crowd of supporters outside the Paola health centre drowned out other questions on Farrugia, applauding Muscat as he insisted he would not comment any further on Farrugia.
The Labour leader has justified his stand to finance private hospital operations on NHS waiting lists, saying that a new Labour government was ready to conduct a study on the maximization of human resources capacity to improve public healthcare.
Muscat said a new government would invest €8 million over and above current levels to improve public healthcare, carry out door-to-door transport of medicinals for the elderly over the age of 70 and disabled people, which he tagged at €500,000, and extend the breast screening and osteoporosis screening programmes with follow-up programmes as well as strengthening the fight against diabetes.
"We want people to trust public healthcare and not need to go to Mater Dei Hospital, and therefore relieve pressure from the hospital's current demands," Muscat said.
Miriam Dalli joined MaltaToday.com.mt in 2010 becoming assistant editor f...
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The PN has outed John Dalli, Tonio Borg, JPO, Muliet and Franco Debono. For the sake of correctness the PL had never outed Mintoff and Anglu Farrugia. Mintoff did not make it at the election and Farrugia was demoted.
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At this point in time any remarks by Dr. Muscat are irrelevant to the work at hand and that is winning the election by showing how the MOVEMENT CAN OFFER A BETTER ALTERNATIVE to the present mess.
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Meta se nitghallmu li l-politika hi servizz u mhux karru li wiehed jinqeda bih?
Barra min Malta jirrezenjaw jew jitkeccew kuljum, u ma jiehdu xejn personali ghax l-politika hi servizz.
Il-hajja personali hi haga; l-politika ohra. Min mhux kapaci jifridhom mhux qed hemm biex iservi imma jisserva!
Ghalhekk l-kelma accountability ma tezistix f'din l-gzira: kulhadd jahseb li m'hawnx bhalu u li minghajru ix-xemx ma titlax! Jew nitbidlu jew nitqamlu!
Micheal Bonanno •
@Fenea. Muscat ma kecciehx lil Anglu Farrugia. Gieghlu biss jirrizenja minn Deputy Leader. Anglu ghazel li jitlaq mill-partit. U bilhaqq, kemm saret tahraqkom qalbkom ghal Anglu? Tghid ikkonvertejtu, ghax safejn niftakar jien, sa gimgha qabel ir-rizenja ma biex ma ghajjartuhx!! Ibda minn DCG l-ewwel wahda!
Sewwa ghidt li l-PN ma kecca lil hadd! Imma ghamilha b'tali mod, li trid tkun c bit-tikka biex tibqa' fil-partit wara dik il-ban biex ma jiehdux sehem fl-elezzjoni. Imbaghad fuq kollox, il-PN kien jaf li JPO u Mugliett ma kienux se johorgu ghall-elezzjoni. Il-mira kienet Franco Debono.
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Spluzjoni fuq Anglu Farrugia dwar l-intervista tieghu, din hi wahda mit-tiben li qed jaqbad mahhom il-PN u skuza biex jippruvaw jghattu liz-zball li l-elezzjoni ma saritx xhur ijlu meta kien hemm indikazzjoni cara li ser tintilef il-maggoranza parlamentari u id-distakk bejn iz-zewg partiti ma kenitx insormontabbli. Issa it-telfa ijla li rrankat ‘Gass mal-Pjanca’ u maggoranza ta’ 5 siggijiet hija kwazi fattibli. Meta Anglu Farrugia tilef konfront politiku kontra avversarju xipli u bla vizjoni politika fuq Xarabank kellu wara l-programm jhalli r-rizenja mal-watchman tal-HQ tal-PL. Kif seta l-PL jpoggi xi hadd biex iwassal biex tintrebah l-elezzjoni li tilef ‘hands down’quddiem l-elettorat. Araw issa l-blogg ta’ Caruana Galizia nehhiet ir-ritratt iccassat ta’ Anglu li kien ijlu hemm kwazi sena shieha u kkumentat hekk fil-15 ta’ Dicembru li ghadda - ‘If Anglu Farrugia can’t even handle a debate with Simon Busuttil, how exactly can he be deputy prime minister and minister of the interior?’ U fuq in-naha l-ohra il-kummenti fuq Franco Debono kienet ‘irrelevanti’
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@ febea
Jaqaw xrobt xi garra mbied fenea? Staqsi lil JPO, lil Franco Debono u Mugliette. Staqsihom jekk tkeccewx? Nahseb li ormaj l-memorja qed titilqek xbin! Kompli legleg siehbi u kompli ighid il-kazzati; xejn xejn tkompli ddahhakna ftit!
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@fenea....il-pn kecca lil Franco debono, J. Pullicino Orlando, Hermann Schiavone u Jesmond Mugliett bil-pulit għax ma qablux miegħu u waqfulu. Iċċekja sew fenea mela u staqsi lil sħabek stess.
Lawrence Covin •
How many people remember how George Borg Olivier was ousted and destroyed -and by who? Beppe may have the answer to this one.
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@melissa..........il pn ma kecca lil hadd. kien il pl li kecca lil min ma qabilx mieghu. sant lil mintoff u muscat lil anglu.
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Kemm ser tagħmlu għaġeb fuq Anġlu Farrugia! Tkeċċew erbgħa minn mal-Pn, ħadd m'għamel dan l-għaġeb u intervisti kontra intervisti. U programmi kontra programmi. Tal-Pn tant ħiereġ ħmieġ madwarhom li qed jippruvaw inessu b'Anglu Farrugia. Jidher li m'għandhomx ma xiex iqabbdu difrejhom!!!!! Dan l-għaġeb kollu!!!! Anġlu tpaxxix nies.
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I totally agree with Dr Muscat that he does not reply or take offence at Dr Angelo Farrugia's diatribe against him. Dr Muscat must have had very serious reasons for asking him to relinquish the Deputy Leadership. That is all he has done. He has not riled Dr Farrugia and the comments to the Sunday Times were simply sour grapes. Dr Muscat is the person acting responsibly not Dr Farrugia, even though his attitude is understandable but not reasonable, especially as he maintained his alleged loyalty to the PL Movement.
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The Bondi and were is everybody clan are so repetitive with there questioning,but unfortunately they are dominating the media scene at the moment with there PN agenda. I hope we hear less from them in the future. Malta needs a breather from these journalistic tugs.
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Anglu Farrugia huwa bniedem ta qalb tajba......period...imma il-politika m`hix hobs ghall snienu...ebda partit specialment waqt elezjoni ma jista jkollu deputy leader jhalli lilu nnifsu jigi mince meat ma politiku mediokri bhall Simon Busuttil
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Jien se nivvota AD imma fuq Anglu Farrugia nista insaqsi kif ma Simon Busutill wehlitlu l-labra; ma kienx kapaci jghaqqad sentenza m'ohra u issa ilsienu inhallu kontra l-Labour?
He should thank his lucky stars for his quick exit other wise GonziPN-who were already rattling their sword against him- would have made fodder out of him during the last three weeks of the elections!
Lawrence Covin •
I was surprised by Beppe Fenech Adami's holier-than-thou diatribe on TV AM this morning. If he were to ask at home about to oust ignominously a party leader and a patriarch (never mind a Deputy) he would shut his trap pronto!
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Although the PN claims that many health programmes being pushed forward by the PL are already being rolled out by the PN, they conveniently forget the years of opposition and foot-dragging they put up when the PL in Opposition made these constructive suggestions. The years they wasted before implementing breast-screening and paying for surgery and MRI screening in the private sector cost us both lives and money. We cannot forget.
