Anglu Farrugia takes up Speaker role on full-time basis

Anglu Farrugia will be serving as a full-time Speaker of the House, following his appointment last week.

"I will carry out my duties as Speaker on a full-time basis," Farrugia said during an interview on Radju Malta in which he reiterated his total commitment to improve Parliament.

Farrugia explained that in order to fulfil his duties in the best possible way, he had severed all ties with the Labour Party and gave up his legal profession.

"In recent months I had a lot of time for reflection and I realised that I would be happier to give my all to the role, with complete loyalty and dedication to the highest of institutions."

Insisting that he has severed all ties with the Labour Party to serve in the role to the best of his capabilities, Farrugia said: "I have to elevate myself above my past experiences, I was glad to accept the Prime Minister's offer, and in our meeting we discussed in detail how we can cooperate with everybody in the national interest."

He added that the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had appointed him because he had faith in Farrugia's integrity and capability to contribute to the country's democratic development.

Farrugia had resigned from Labour Deputy Leader in December 2012, less than a week after the his insinuations on a judge's decision being politically motivated, and his disastrous encounter in the live Xarabank debate with Nationalist deputy leader Simon Busuttil. 

Repeating his plea for forgiveness if in any way in the past he let down anyone, Farrugia said: "I will continue building on the good carried out by Speaker Emeritus Michael Frendo and move towards a parliament which is autonomous at all levels."

Farrugia predicted that despite the Labour government's nine-seat majority, he would be asked to give a number of rulings in the next five years and augured for changes in the way parliament functions

"The country needs to strengthen its sense of belonging to the Parliament, and while each and every citizen needs to be aware of what is happening in the country all citizens have a right for remedy if any MP fails to carry his or her duties correctly," Farrugia said.

He also announced that in the next seven days, the Parliamentary financial and economic committee would be set up to ensure that Parliament scrutinises European legislation such as the Fiscal Compact.

Farrugia floated the idea to make Parliament more family friendly and move forward the sessions by a few hours and convene MPs between 3pm and 7pm, instead of the current 6pm to 9pm sessions.

The House's rules, the Standing Orders need an overhaul, Farrugia added as he hinted at changes in the time allocation for MPs, which should move towards the European Parliament  model which only allows deputies to address the Parliament for three minutes.

He described his job as an "important Constitutional role," and said that presiding the House goes beyond keeping order during Parliamentary sessions but it means protecting the rights of every MP.

"Parliament is the living representation of the people's sovereignty, and the Speaker's role is ruled by complete impartiality," Farrugia said, stressing that this demanded great constitutional and personal efforts.

This week, Farrugia met PN leader Lawrence Gonzi and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and he said: "I met the Opposition leader first to underline my commitment to protect the rights of the Parliamentary minority,"

While saying that he would be meeting with Alternattiva Demokratika in the coming days, Farrugia strayed away from the electoral reform discussion and the question whether The Green Party deserved to be represented in Parliament after garnering over 5,000 votes in the 9 March election.

However, Farrugia said: "The more open Parliament is for Alternattiva Demokratika and civil society, the better."

Farrugia said that his previous experience as Labour deputy leader and MP helped him understand the way Parliament functions, underlining the significance of his short stint as stand-in Speaker during the tumultuous 1996-98 legislature.