Speaker betraying constitutional role, PN says as it condemns letter to Matthew Caruana Galizia

The Nationalist Party has condemned Speaker Anglu Farrugia over a legal letter he sent Matthew Caruana Galizia and accuses him of defending government interests

Speaker Anglu Farrugia
Speaker Anglu Farrugia

The Nationalist Party has accused Speaker Anġlu Farrugia of betraying his constitutional role and condemned his actions after sending a legal letter to Matthew Caruana Galizia.

The PN statement on Friday was a reaction to Farrugia's decision to send a legal letter to Matthew Caruana Galizia, after the latter accused the Speaker of protecting Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar.

In response Farrugia sent Caruana Galizia a legal letter calling out his apparent lack of procedural knowledge for penning his letter directly to him.

"Through his letter, Speaker Anġlu Farrugia has once again confirmed that he is still yet to understand the constitutional role that he occupies. In his letter the Speaker states he is there to defend the government’s interests," the PN said.

The Opposition said this goes against the oath taken by Farrugia, to be loyal towards the public, the Republic of Malta and the Constitution. "Instead Anġlu Farrugia chose to remain controlled by the Labour government."

It made a reference to Farrugia's rulings in recent months, in which it said, he defended the government in the case of the contract and consultancy to Konrad Mizzi, the undeclared income by Rosianne Cutajar, and the misuse of public funds for political advertising by a government minister.

“The PN considers urgent, the need for parliamentary reform, so that this truly becomes a democratic institution that conducts effective and efficient scrutiny of the government’s work and holds it accountable during the whole legislature,” the PN said.