NEWS | Wednesday, 25 February 2009

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Julia Farrugia
An interview with Nationalist MP Robert Arrigo that appeared in sister newspaper Illum on Sunday sent shockwaves running through the PN headquarters, with insiders telling MaltaToday of various comments from party inner circles.
In his first full blown interview since the March general election, Robert Arrigo – long touted for a Cabinet position – confirmed that a petition signed by more than 2,000 supporters taking umbrage at the fact he was not given a ministerial position had been in circulation.
“Yes this petition was drawn up. I saw it with my own eyes. There were more than 2,000 signatories,” Arrigo said.
Arrigo admitted that Lawrence Gonzi’s decision not to give him a ministry or a parliamentary secretariat was “a huge anticlimax.”
“I felt as if I was in a team that won the league but for some reason or other was never awarded the trophy,” the former football president said in one of his typical analogies.
PN insiders told MaltaToday that the discontentment amongst backbenchers was now more evident and that it its toll would eventually be felt upon the party.
A senior minister insisted with this newspaper: “The Nationalist Party cannot afford to lose crucial votes simply because of discontented backbenchers. Our leader needs to look out at the bigger picture.
“It is not just a question of making a backbencher happy. We should not forget that Arrigo got a sound backup from almost 6,000 voters. This is no joke.
“An irate backbencher means thousand of irate voters and Gonzi’s team need to address this situation. We have an MEP election round the corner. People can use their protest vote to send a message,” the minister claimed.
Arrigo also took issue with a newly introduced tax of €0.50 per tourist per night as from the 1 January 2010, calling it “sheer madness.”
He slammed the Malta Tourism Authority’s decision to close down a number of foreign offices, claiming he “never agreed with such a decision. It was a really bad move. In those years when MTA offices were being closed the tourism sector was really, really damaged. Maybe today we are paying the price.”
Arrigo also declared that he is against Gonzi’s idea to build a Parliament instead of the Royal Opera House.

Robert Arrigo interview
www.illum.com.mt/2009/02/22/interview.html

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