Pullicino Orlando meets Speaker, says he still considers Gonzi as Prime Minister

Speaker Michael Frendo has published the letter given to him by MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando who visited him at his offices in Valletta this morning.

In the letter, Pullicino Orlando informed Frendo that he had resigned from the PN.

"I have informed the leader of the party Dr. Lawrence Gonzi that, while I still consider him to be the Prime Minister of Malta, I no longer form part of his parliamentary group and do not consider the PN parliamentary whip as having any form of authority with regard to my actions in the coming months," Pullicino Orlando wrote.

He added that he intends to continue serving in the House of Representatives as an independent member.

The statement, issued through the Department of Information, added that Pullicino Orlando is considering himself to be in coalition with government.

The independent MP said that he will continue supporting government in parliament, unless he makes a "different declaration with regards to any motion or specific legislation".

After 15 years militating in the PN, Pullicino Orlando last Thursday formally resigned from the Nationalist parliamentary group after his case against Richard Cachia Caruana was defeated by the PN executive committee.

While the resignation of the MP from the party had been expected, the 'coalition' announcement came as a surprise. Pullicino Orlando said he will continue supporting government until the 2008 electoral programme is finalised.

Meanwhile, the Speaker has not yet announced whether he intends to reconvene parliament before 1 October, when MPs meet again after the summer recess.