A motion for former chief Justice Joseph Azzopardi to become the new Commissioner for Standards in Public Life was controversially approved by parliament with a simple majority on Monday. The House also approved - by unanimity - a motion for retired judge Joseph Zammit Mckeon to become Ombudsman. The nomination of the standards commissioner by a simple majority came at the end of weeks of heated debate during which the Opposition accused the government of having changed the goalposts to ensure that its nominee got over the line. To date, the appointment of the standards commissioner had needed a two-thirds parliamentary majority. But the government changed the law by introducing an anti-deadlock mechanism after accusing the opposition of blocking agreement. It also accused Opposition leader Bernard Grech of backtracking on what it said was an initial agreement to Azzopardi’s nomination. In terms of the anti-deadlock mechanism, two votes were held in the House last month during which a two-thirds majority was sought. With those having failed, - MPs having voted on party lines - a simple majority in a third vote sufficed for the nomination to go through on Monday. The vote was...
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