Minister stands by PN's decision on Franco Debono

Minister Jason Azzopardi said this morning he stood by the Nationalist Party’s position that decisions taken on dissenters should not be overturned. Dr Azzopardi was commenting after MEP Simon Busuttil yesterday said he was not against reconciliation with rebel backbencher Franco Debono and others, as long as everyone assumed his responsibilities. (See story here) The PN later reacted to the statement by saying that the party executive position on Dr Debono stood, and the Nationalist Party was not for turning on this matter. The party executive had voted to ban Dr Debono from contesting the general election on the PN ticket. Dr Azzopardi - cited as a possible contender for the PN deputy leadership before he ruled out the possibility - said that although he was all for reconciliation, the line taken by the party was the correct one.