Government puts forward motion condemning Opposition’s attitude towards Speaker

The government has filed a parliamentary motion condemning the Opposition’s attitude with the Speaker of the House during the past weeks.

The motion, which will be debated and voted on by MPs on Monday, also voices solidarity with the Speaker, government Whip Naomi Cachia told the House.

The motion emphasised the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, which state that no member should use offensive or inappropriate language in the House or in reference to any of its members.

It also condemned the “aggressive behaviour” of Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina towards the Speaker. The motion stated Aquilina went to extremes, among other instances, when he called the Speaker “shameless, obscene and incapable of thinking, even telling him he should sit with the government side.”

It highlighted that in a session where he was found guilty of breaching parliamentary privilege, Aquilina stated that “everyone now knows what the Speaker is,” and in another sitting, when the Farrugia asked him to stop interrupting, Aquilina responded by saying he should call the police to remove him from Parliament.

The government motion also stated parliamentary proceedings have been repeatedly disrupted due to shouting, interruptions and banging by Aquilina and other Opposition members, forcing the Speaker to suspend sittings in line with the House’s Standing Orders. It states the lack of respect towards the country’s institutions, “whenever decisions do not favour the Opposition, must come to an end.”

The motion concluded by calling on the Leader of the Opposition to assert his authority by reprimanding his MP and ensuring that such disorder does not happen again.

The parliamentary motion comes following weeks of criticism by the Nationalist Party and specifically Opposition MP Karol Aquilina, against Speaker Anglu Farrugia.

“Opposition MPs who have told us they are not happy with the attitude shown by their colleagues should stand up and be counted,” Cachia told the House when filing the parliamentary motion.

In a statement on Wednesday, the PN said parliament needs to be led by a Speaker who is impartial and does not “serve the partisan interests of government.”  

The Opposition argued Speaker Farrugia has consistently demonstrated prejudice against the PN parliamentary group, continuing with the same attitude when he was deputy leader of the Labour Party. 

The PN accused the Speaker of issuing rulings that are inconsistent and contrary to parliamentary customs and traditions.

The PN also criticised the Speaker’s repeated refusal to allow urgent debates on critical national issues. These included discussions on the death of Jean Paul Sofia, the €400 million fraud linked to the Vitals and Steward healthcare deal, the large-scale drug theft that took place under the watch of the AFM, the collapse of Air Malta, the Ombudsman’s findings on abuses at the Corradino Correctional Facility, and the resignation or dismissal of key government figures.