Sparks fly in Parliament

Malta’s 12th Parliament opened with a sizzle yesterday morning as Opposition leader Lawrence Gonzi first slammed and then led the vote against Anġlu Farrugia’s nomination as Speaker. Dr Gonzi said the nomination, which subsequently passed 39-30, went against the spirit of the Constitution that he said indicated a Speaker should ideally be nominated from within Parliament. “From now onwards, every Government will pick a Speaker from outside Parliament,” he said. The Nationalist Party has strongly opposed the Government’s decision to unilaterally nominate Dr Farrugia, who until December served as Labour’s deputy leader, without consultation with the Opposition. Dr Farrugia was forced out of the political scene by Dr Muscat last December after accusing a magistrate of political bias, just a few days after a calamitous performance in a debate with PN deputy leader Simon Busuttil on TV show Xarabank. Dr Gonzi’s fiery tone was matched by a politically charged speech by President George Abela, which opened by saying the “age of arrogant leadership” was over and concluded by remarking that the general election result had shown that the people were “ready to come together to make the...