There will be no place on Lawrence Gonzi’s new Cabinet for Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, the Nationalist MP whose antics in the last week of the electoral campaign are believed to have cost the PN thousands in lost votes.
Gonzi yesterday was sworn in after winning the 2008 elections by a sheer margin of 1,200 votes.
But in a comment to MaltaToday, a firm Gonzi ruled out any possibility of appointing Pullicino Orlando as a minister.
“No. In these circumstances, no,” Gonzi said, clearly referring to the current police investigations over the award of a planning permit for the construction of an open-air discotheque on land that Pullicino Orlando owns in the picturesque Mistra – a project which Pullicino Orlando denied till the very last minute, despite the existence of a contract signed between Pullicino Orlando and a lessee interested in developing the disco.
The case was revealed by Opposition leader Alfred Sant in the last week of the campaign.
Later yesterday evening Lawrence Gonzi reiterated again his intentions in the PBS current affairs programme Dissett, saying Pullicino Orlando would not be in the next Cabinet, despite having been re-elected on two districts.
After his swearing-in yesterday, asked by this paper whether he had any misgivings about the fact that people like veteran minister Louis Galea had not made it after an electoral campaign stressing more young blood, Gonzi said he was “sorry, but this is everyday politics”.
“These are such experiences which you have to be prepared for as from day one. I do feel sorry for who did not get elected because I know how much they worked and I know, the commitment towards the country is great. But the electorate is sovereign. I stated from the very beginning that I would accept the people’s verdict. It could have been a verdict towards myself or towards another candidate,” the prime minister said.
An emotional Lawrence Gonzi admitted yesterday was a touching moment for him: “This is a moment of huge emotions. You can see how affectionate the people are, the way they show you their trust, and the way they express themselves which puts a lot of responsibility on us all,” Gonzi said.
“Now the country needs to be united. We went through this democratic moment. This moment strengthens us but now we need to keep on working so that we turn this country to a success. We need to do this together as we pledged in our slogan,” he said.
“I am determined to do my very best until the very last moment so that the country gets all the best out of the potential of the Maltese. I am confident this can be done and I believe that if we’re conscientious and act in good faith, we can succeed together.”
Just a few minutes earlier at 4:30pm at the Presidential Palace in Valletta, the swearing-in ceremony took place. Flanked by his wife Kate, Gonzi read the oath: “I Lawrence Gonzi solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the people and the Republic of Malta and its Constitution. So help me God.”
The camera flashes illuminated the Ambassadors’ Room. Then the applause from his three kids, PN secretary-general Joe Saliba, Gonzi’s entourage and the brains behind the Nationalist campaign including Malta’s permanent representative to the EU Richard Cachia Caruana, and MEP Simon Busuttil.
And then, the much-awaited moment for the crowd gathered outside the Palace: accompanied by President Edward Fenech Adami, Lawrence Gonzi triumphantly greets the people from the balcony. Clasping umbrellas for cover from the rain, the crowd chanted PN slogans and greeted the newly appointed prime minister with the hooting of horns. Then off for the family photo and half an hour later, Gonzi walked out of the Palace’s main gate to greet the crowd.
The rain stopped and his bodyguards decided not to drive him up to Castille but to stick to the original plan and let him walk down through Republic Street. Gonzi walked with his wife down through Valletta’s main street, greeted and hugged by Nationalist supporters from behind the metal barriers.
Near Castille a large crowd awaited his arrival, armed with sparklers and Nationalist and EU flags. Some supporters climbed the trees to get a better look.
Walking up the steps of Castille, Lawrence Gonzi stopped for a moment and turned back to wave to the crowd. Lined up along Castille’s inner staircase was the OPM, some workers in tears, others smiling radiantly. A few minutes later, Gonzi and his wife emerged from Castille’s main window, waving to the crowd.
As his second term begins, Gonzi today faces his first assignment to choose a new Cabinet before leaving for the European summit in Brussels tomorrow.

jfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt