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Kurt Sansone
Nationalist Party leader Lawrence Gonzi yesterday misled the public during the PN’s weekly televised press conference on NET TV when he stated that the European People’s Party, of which the PN is a member, and the liberals together enjoyed a majority in the European Parliament.
MaltaToday asked Gonzi to identify one instance when the Parliament approved a resolution or legislation with the sole vote of the EPP, which is described in the PN’s electoral manifesto as a ‘majority’ party.
In his reply Gonzi conceded that the EPP often relied on the backing of the liberals, a smaller political grouping, for support. “The EPP is the largest party in Parliament with 295 seats from 787. Together with the liberals we represent a majority in the Parliament. The Socialists have 232 seats and not even with the 47 votes of the Greens do they have a majority in Parliament,” Gonzi said, while asking MaltaToday to do some research on how Parliament normally votes.
Majority possible with small parties
Research undertaken by this newspaper reveals that what Gonzi said about the EPP and the liberal grouping enjoying a joint majority is not, however, correct. Together, both groupings have 362 seats which is 32 seats short of an absolute majority. More often than not the Christian Democrats and the liberals, which do not always vote with the EPP, have to rely on the support of another small political grouping comprising far right movements to obtain a parliamentary majority.
Throughout the press conference, during which the PN manifesto for the forthcoming election was launched, Gonzi emphasised that people should vote “intelligently” and cast their preference for the eight PN candidates because these would form part of the ‘majority’ EPP. This message is also present in the new set of billboard messages unveiled by the PN.
Environmental record
But yesterday wasn’t Gonzi’s day. The Prime Minister ignored a question posed by a Super One journalist on the EPP’s voting record on environmental issues.
The PN’s European political allies only scored 23 per cent in an eco-friendly vote analysis conducted by leading environmental group, Friends of the Earth (Europe).
This contrasts heavily with the Greens and Socialists, who have a pro-environment voting record of over 90 per cent - with the Greens at 99 percent.
Gonzi said that research had to be done to establish the voting record of the political groupings and reiterated that the PN gave top priority to the environment.
And then a dig out of nowhere towards the Labour leader: “It was Alfred Sant, my friends, who wanted Maghtab to remain open,” Gonzi warned repeatedly while addressing the camera only to reiterate a couple of minutes later that waste management and the environment should not be “politicised.”
Fielding a question on eco-taxation, Gonzi said government was committed to go ahead with plans laid out in last year’s budget to introduce a deposit charge on certain waste, including bottles, to enable better collection. The reply was in contrast to the criticism deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg levelled against the European Greens for championing eco-taxation.
No one to blame
Another issue raised was the German investment in the production of electric vans that never materialised after the foreign company claimed it encountered too much bureaucracy. Gonzi would not answer as to who was responsible for this lost investment.
“Do we want factories to open here that operate through government subsidy? Do we want companies that want rebates on electricity and water bills? This is not the type of investment we want,” Gonzi said without elaborating on the details. But Gonzi forgot to mention the scenes of jubilation last year when Environment Minister George Pullicino paraded in an electric van trumpeting the investment to-be as a sign of trust in the economy.
Fielding another question Gonzi made it a point to specify that the EPP had voted against abortion in the “final document” on the issue some two years ago. The emphasis on the words ‘final document’ was intentional because on separate votes related to a number of amendments on the issue of abortion, Christian Democrat members of the European Parliament voted in favour.
Reacting to criticism made earlier by Alternattiva Demokratika Chairperson Harry Vassallo on the political broadcast scheme ahead of the EP election, which does not cater for cross-party debates, Gonzi said he was not scared of a debate.
“The PN candidates are capable and I have trust in them. I am all for a debate with other candidates because I am sure the eight PN candidates have much to offer but that is a decision taken by the Broadcasting Authority and I accept it,” Gonzi said. Ironically, the BA is a Constitutional authority made up of representatives of the two major political parties and in the scheme launched this week, the Labour Party and the PN were allotted 40 minutes of party productions while AD and newly set up formation Alpha were allotted 10 minutes each. No debates were scheduled.
kurt@newsworksltd.com
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