News | Sunday, 01 February 2009

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Gonzi bows to PN rebels but stands by RCC

In an unprecedented move, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday bowed to an outcry by angry PN rebels over the controversial St John’s Co-Cathedral extension, which is being pushed by Malta’s permanent representative to the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana.
Yesterday’s hastily-called parliamentary group meeting was convened to discuss a counter motion, moved by the Prime Minister, to neutralise Opposition leader Joseph Muscat’s motion against the proposed underground extension of the Co-Cathedral museum.
A senior Office of the Prime Minister source told MaltaToday that the meeting was “uncomfortable” for the Prime Minister. In the words of a backbencher who insisted on remaining anonymous, it was a case of “the chickens coming home to roost.”
Muscat’s motion, put forward last week, questions Cachia Caruana’s role in the foundation that is proposing the extension, as well as his position as a member of the Cabinet and permanent representative in Brussels.
The move is seen as a clear attempt to derail his nomination for the post of EU Commissioner.
Opposition to the extension has already been vociferously expressed by PN backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. But others joined the chorus yesterday, including former ministers Ninu Zammit and Jesmond Mugliett as well as Robert Arrigo, among other dissenters.

At the start of the meeting, Jean Pierre Farrugia queried leaks that were constantly being passed over to the press. Just last week, MEP Simon Busuttil also complained that it was “not on” for internal discussions to be splashed all over the media.
Some backbenchers have blamed the Office of the Prime Minister for leaking information in order to “halt dissenters.”
Soon afterwards the Prime Minister moved his counter motion, which opined that the government had reservations over the project and that the whole process should be carefully monitored. There was no mention of Richard Cachia Caruana in the counter motion.
Cachia Caruana – who was in Malta and not in Brussels – was not present for the meeting. Though he regularly attends cabinet meetings, he does not normally attend meetings of the parliamentary group.
No conclusion was reached yesterday over the Prime Minister’s counter motion, and the matter will now have to be discussed in a future parliamentary group meeting.

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