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Neither asleep nor sick, but protesting
We have it from the horse’s mouth. The PN spin-machine (or writers – they don’t spin it seems, just write) may have toyed with the twin theories of “Franco was asleep” and “Franco was sick” but they will have to come up with something very, very creative to spin (or write) this one away. Here is the Times summary of their interview with Dr Debono. It leaves little space for doubt – starting from the very title: “Franco Debono gives reasons for his parliamentary protest”. No need to rub your eyes. It was a protest after all.
Nationalist MP Franco Debono has revealed that he spoke on the reasons for his absence from Parliament on Monday to the Prime Minister (never mind the alarmclocks) and to the whip of the Nationalist parliamentary group, David Agius (never mind the doorknockers). In new comments to the press, he said that in the wider context (? – do note that the narrower context is still being kept between Franco, Lawrence and presumably David), he was complaining about the dignity of Parliament (hear, hear), problems in the South of Malta (their capital “S”) and fundamental problems in the justice sector. He said he had been considering his protest for some weeks (may I ask if it was on his mind after the Bondiplus episode – so Lou can take some credit?) and he felt his message had been conveyed (loud and clear Franco). The full interview is being published today in The Sunday Times.
Don’t miss out on J’accuse’s take on it all (Bad Romance – They’ve all gone Gaga this Christmas) in today’s issue of The Malta Independent on Sunday.
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J'accuse Personality of the Year Poll
If your preferred personality does not feature in this poll please leave a comment in the comment box. I leave you with a point to ponder: The Times headline this morning is “Franco Debono says he will not topple government”. Do you find that reassuring or worrying? Consider this… would you ever read the following headline: “Jacques René Zammit says he will not lift a two ton truck”?
Still feeeling worried/reassured?
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From The Times:
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had a meeting with Franco Debono this evening, two days after the Nationalist MP missed two votes in parliament, denying the government its majority. Dr Debono also did not attend a meeting of the PN parliamentary group on Tuesday, and could not be contacted. Party whip David Agius late on Tuesday denied claims that pressure was being put on Dr Debono to resign.
Dr Debono attended the first part of Monday’s parliamentary sitting, but was absent during two votes on amendments to a motion on the setting up of a Select Committee. The Speaker had to use his casting vote. Dr Debono later returned to the Chamber and voted with the government. The motion was approved.
This evening’s meeting was held at Dr Debono’s residence in Ghaxaq. Mrs Gonzi also attended.
Since Franco Debono was probably “asleep” at his house during a routine vote* one should therefore imagine that the PM’s courtesy visit at the Ghaxaq Residence (probably during waking hours – you know what they say about letting sleeping dogs lie) was simply to discuss a possible variation in his sleeping habits. We’d hate to imagine Franco sleeping through the whole of this legislature…
* from Running Commentary:
Franco Debono becoming ‘another’ pain in the ass?
[Daphne – No, it’s not. There was a routine vote, MPs on both sides of the house were away from Malta, and it was a ‘draw’. Franco Debono failed to turn up because he was asleep and had to be woken by people who turned up at his house for the purpose. The rest is just wishful thinking and the sort of ‘rumour as fact’ reporting we have come to expect from Maltastar. The Labour party even sent out a viral SMS yesterday, claiming that the prime minister was to call for a vote of confidence at 3pm. Yes, right.]
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It’s Erskine May and Alfred-May-Not all over again in Parliament as a seemingly innocuous vote about who should head two parliamentary committees almost resulted in the government side losing two votes. It was not exactly a government crushing moment and much as the labour side try to cook up a theory of “instable government” behind it it was still bound to happen any day. Pairing matters aside it all went Pete Tong when Honourable Member Franco Debono absented himself for reasons as yet unkown (*) from the Chamber of Deputies. A Labourite MP moved an amendment to a government motion as to who should head two committees in the making and when every MP was called to do his duty the resultant vote on the opposition motion was 32 to 32. Missing were two votes on each side (for absence or pairing) plus the glaring emptiness that was Franco Debono’s vote.
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Sub Judice – Bad Romance
Elsewhere in the blogging world, a blogger takes pride of the fact that other columnists “waited until Noel Arrigo’s trial was concluded to laugh in print about his confessors and aborted trips to Lourdes, leaving me to crack jokes alone (not that I mind, of course)”. The whole hullabaloo was raised because Saviour Balzan seems to have a twisted (selective?) impression of what the term sub judice means and what the effects of a case being sub judice are. It would be an interesting discussion to enter into were it not for the fact that the very people who take pride in having spouted truckloads of hilarious comments about the former Chief Justice and his situation were conspicuously silent at the moment of the very same ex-Chief Justice’s appointment. You’d imagine that what counts for the Balzan goose should count for the gander.
It’s not like he started selling condoms when the case was sub judice (if we accept Saviour’s definition) right? Which just goes to show….
Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.
