PN yet to decide on Anglu Farrugia Speaker nomination

The Nationalist Party parliamentary group has yet to take a decision on whether to support Anglu Farrugia’s nomination for Speaker when parliament opens on 7 May.

This will be Farrugia’s third term as Speaker and the nomination will have to be approved by a simple majority vote in parliament.

“A meeting of the parliamentary group about the subject is still to be held,” a spokesperson for the PN told MaltaToday, adding that Opposition leader Bernard Grech was not consulted by the Prime Minister on the nomination.

On 14 April, Robert Abela said government will be nominating Farrugia for Speaker, insisting he saw no need for change in the role. This will be the first time that a Speaker is retained for a third term.

In 2013, the Opposition had voted against Farrugia’s nomination because then prime minister Joseph Muscat had not consulted it on the choice. However, in 2017, Farrugia was proposed for a second term and was approved unanimously.

The Constitution makes no reference to consultation in the nomination of a new Speaker. The Speaker can be a sitting MP or someone from outside the House.

The motion nominating the Speaker is filed by the prime minister and is the first vote that will be taken in the first session of parliament. MPs will then vote on a second motion to appoint the deputy speaker, which according to parliamentary practice has always been nominated by the Opposition.

Grech has selected PN deputy leader David Agius for the role of deputy speaker when assigning new portfolios to his MPs after the election. In the last legislature, the deputy speaker role was occupied by Claudette Buttigieg.

Speakers in the last five legislatures

13th Legislature (2017 - 2022) Anglu Farrugia

12th Legislature (2013 - 2017) Anglu Farrugia

11th Legislature (2008 - 2013) Louis Galea and Michael Frendo

10th Legislature (2003 - 2008) Anton Tabone

9th Legislature (1998 - 2003) Anton Tabone