Arsenal trip Louis Deguara tells minister to ‘do the honourable thing’
FENECH REFUSES TO APOLOGISE
As Gonzi fails to garner MPs’ support for Fenech, minister refuses to make public apology
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech refused to accept a suggestion made by fellow MPs to make a public apology for the controversial freebie he accepted by travelling on businessman George Fenech’s private jet, along with him and businessman Joe Gasan, to watch a Uefa Champions League match in Spain.
MaltaToday is in a position to reveal that the suggestion was made by former health minister Louis Deguara, during last Wednesday’s extraordinary meeting for the PN parliamentary group.
Deguara reportedly invited Tonio Fenech to be “pro-active” rather than “defensive” and suggested he does the “honourable thing” by making a public apology.
He also suggested that Fenech should promise that in future he will be more cautious and not accept such invitations from businessmen.
But the suggestion was immediately shot down by Tonio Fenech, and also by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi who backed him up on his refusal.
The rejection triggered further dissent within the PN parliamentary group, as many MPs expressed their dismay at the attitude adopted by both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.
The urgent meeting turned out to be an attempt to convince MPs to rally behind Fenech by issuing a statement.
It was at this point that MPs warned the Prime Minister that it would be senseless for them to support Fenech in a statement of solidarity, when other MPs who equally “felt victimised had not received the same support”.
The parliamentary group meeting backfired for Gonzi and Fenech, as it failed to produce the unanimous agreement for a statement of solidarity towards the embattled minister.
Instead, the Prime Minister had to accept the publication of a vague and brief statement stressing the “unanimity” of the parliamentary group in condemning the use of anonymous letters, “written with the aim of influencing policy makers or decisions taken in a democracy.”
The statement added that the PN parliamentary group “assures the Maltese that none of its members will ever be influenced by anonymous letters.”
Angered by the refusal for a public apology, MPs told the Prime Minister that there was “an obvious difference between being an innocent victim of blackmail or anonymous letters, and another who puts his foot into it.”
While Labour leader Joseph Muscat has demanded an explanation into the Finance Minister’s private travels, Tonio Fenech claims the matter was raised by the Prime Minister during last week’s parliamentary group meeting who brought out an anonymous letter (see page 7).
This statement brought about the surprise of many MPs who were present at the meeting and who insisted that the issue was raised by Franco Debono, and definitely not by the Prime Minister, and there was absolutely no mention of any anonymous letters.
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