‘Muscat made a scapegoat out of Godfrey Farrugia’ – Busuttil

Accusing the government of not being “prepared to govern” and of being littered with “incompetence and lies”, PN leader Simon Busuttil this morning accused prime minister Joseph Muscat of making a “scapegoat” out of former health minister Godfrey Farrugia.

Farrugia, who last month tendered his resignation as the health minister and the government’s main sponsor of its health plan, has since accused the prime minister of “repeatedly humiliating” him – a feat which according to Simon Busuttil shows the true colours of the Labour government.

A year into his tenure, Farrugia’s stewardship of the health ministry underwent considerable criticism, with the handling of Mater Dei proving to be his Achilles heel – especially after refusing to take ownership for a report penned by consultant John Dalli and the unpleasant marquee set up outside the Mater Dei emergency department.

“But,” the PN leader insisted, “instead of shouldering the responsibility for its shortcomings within the health sector, the government instead, threw Godfrey Farrugia under the bus and made him a scapegoat.”

“The government blamed the shortcomings on one person, and tried to avoid responsibility by blaming it all on Godfrey Farrugia. Joseph Muscat used him, deceived him, and then, kicked him out,” he argued.

Addressing the party faithful at Ta’ Xbiex, the Nationalist Party leader lambasted Joseph Muscat for doing this to a “person he trusts,” saying “imagine what Muscat could do to those who do not agree with his politics.”

On Joseph Cuschieri’s U-turn to contest the forthcoming MEP elections in March, Busuttil questioned whether Joseph Cuschieri was promised something by the government in case he is not elected.

On Thursday, Cuschieri, Labour’s incumbent MEP, submitted his candidature for the MEP post, just 72 hours after he had insisted that he would not contest the elections because the party had put him on the “losers’ side”, and after accusing the party machine of “already knowing who would be elected.”

“I wonder how Joseph Muscat managed to change Joseph Cuschieri’s mind. Did he offer Cuschieri a beacon of hope in case his candidature is not successful? Was he bought in any manner, perhaps by a promise of a job if not elected?”

While accusing the government of betrayal, Busuttil argued that the prime minister does not even respect Joseph Cuschieri – “the same man who in 2008 gave up his parliamentary seat for him.”

I wonder how Joseph Muscat managed to change Joseph Cuschieri’s mind. Did he offer Cuschieri a beacon of hope in case his candidature is not successful? Was he bought in any manner, perhaps by a promise of a job if not elected? Simon Busuttil on Joseph Cuschieri's decision to contest MEP elections.

Turning his attention on the legal notice that would enable the education minister and other ministry officials of requesting private information on pupils attending state schools, Busuttil insisted that the education minister does not have a right to access such sensitive information.

While Education minister Evarist Bartolo insisted that the information would be used for “research purposes”, Busuttil took umbrage at Bartolo’s claim, insisting that one does not need to know ID card numbers to carry out research.

“Would this information be used for political purposes or to gain political mileage? Does the Evarist Bartolo think that Malta is a communist country where the government can act as a Big Brother and spy on its people,” he said.

In addition, Busuttil, accused the government of double standards, because as opposed to the legal notice, it went silent on Owen Bonnici’s incident.

Last week, justice minister Owen Bonnici was involved in a minor traffic incident that led to the hospitalisation of a motorist – an incident that according to Simon Busuttil and the party media organs should have been made public just like an incident involving Edward Scicluna was made.

After the PN made the incident public, Owen Bonnici subsequently issued a statement, and later conceded that he should have issued a statement earlier.

“While the government wants to access pupils’ personal information, it did not want to disclose any information on the incident of one of its minister,” Busuttil said while accusing the government of being irresponsible and not transparent.

“This further proves that the police commissioner [Peter Paul Zammit] is the government’s puppet, and moreover, instead of serving the country, he is serving the government’s interests – just like did in the wake of the smart meter scandal,” Busuttil argued.

With the forthcoming MEP elections looming, Busuttil acknowledged that the party faces an uphill task in overturning its 36,00-vote deficit, insisting that it is difficult to gain the majority of votes.

“Nevertheless,” the PN Leader rallied, “ it is possible to get the PN back on its feet, and for the party to lead by example and to show that it is closer to the people and that it deserves their vote.”

“The government is not leading by example, so now it is up to us to show the electorate that it merits their vote. The PN does not have a right to the people’s vote, but instead, it must work hard to gain the votes,” he continued.