“Obviously I was right and [Muscat] didn’t understand and he had to split the ministries again after a few months. Obviously that wasn’t the right time to start quarrelling with him but time has now passed. Muscat will be remembered around the world for destroying institutions while I will be remembered for proposing their improvement. There can only be one first in class, Invict, deal with it.”

Debono and Muscat have personal history, having shared a class at secondary school, and the criminal lawyer has often pointed out that he used to get better grades than the Prime Minister. The word ‘Invict’ is a reference to Muscat’s ‘Invictus’ tattoo, Latin for ‘undefeated’.

Debono went on to praise PN MPs Marthese Portelli and Ryan Callus for their recent resignations in protest from the Planning and Lands Authorities respectively, arguing that it was in the national interest for them to expose the falsities of the reforms in the authorities that took place under Muscat’s watch.

“After their noble and admirable gestures, the PN must now withdraw from the supposed constitutional reform process,” Debono, who used to be in charge of this process before it was handed over to the President of the Republic, said.

“Muscat’s reforms have been nothing but messes and disasters, and those who destroyed institutions don’t have the right or the credibility to strengthen them.”

What do you make of Franco Debono’s comments?

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