PM: Never discussed resignation with Franco Mercieca

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today that he never discussed resignation with Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca. Speaking on TVAM, Dr Muscat said Mr Mercieca was one of the most genuine persons he knew. His concern for his patients was real. Their talks, he said, were about balancing his concern for his patients and his work in the political field. Politically, he said, Mr Mercieca was also doing good work. He was forging a closer alliance between the government and the National Commission for Persons with Disability, he was working on community services for people with disabilities, the setting up of facilities for persons with disability once their parents passed away and he was also rectifying the situation at St Vincent de Paul.  Questioned on how Mr Mercieca had continued to perform operations which were not within his exclusive professional specialisation, Dr Muscat said Mr Mercieca had had a list of patients before the election which he could not simply discard. Mr Mercieca would henceforth perform operations only at Mater Dei and Gozo Hospital. In a statement this afternoon, the Nationalist Party called on both Dr Muscat and Mr Mercieca to shoulder political...