‘Put National Interest First In Hospitals Vote’: Former MP Praises PN For Finally Seeing The Light On Cross Party Voting
A former PN MP who voted across party lines in 2012 is backing Opposition Leader Adrian Delia calls on government MPs to vote against their administration, despite him being ostracised for doing so years before.
“This is a historic day for the PN after the party called on government MPs to act as I (and others) did in the past, where the party reacted poorly and left negative consequences,” Franco Debono said in a Facebook post.
Malta’s MPs head to parliament tomorrow to debate the PN’s motion to scrap Steward Healthcare’s controversial concession of the Gozo General Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital and Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital.
They took over the concession from Vitals Global Healthcare. The latter was forced to sell off their operations just 21 months in amid growing financial debt, which stood at €36 million by the end of 2017.
PN Leader Adrian Delia has called on government MPs to “act for Malta” and vote in favour of the motion. However, the concept of party loyalty has trounced any hope for a parliamentary debate that genuinely reflects the opinions of the public at large, whether that’s social, environmental, or economic concerns.
Debono has backed Delia’s calls, despite noting the irony in the PN’s switch.
“The vote being taken on Thursday is far more serious than whatever happened when I was an MP. I hope that national interest will prevail,” he explained.
However, Debono’s clear that no constitutional reform or legislative changes would help foster a sense of loyalty to the voters from MPs.
He had first abstained on a vote on the controversial Arriva transport service. Then he backed a no-confidence motion that forced the resignation of then-Minister for Home and Parliamentary Affairs Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, after presenting a comprehensive holistic justice and constitutional reform in the preceding years.
“Being faithful to the political party is different from being loyal towards a band club or a football team, especially for a Member of Parliament.”
“When a Member of Parliament is elected on a party ticket the person holding this office also becomes a representative of the people and hence has a primary loyalty to his constituency and the nation who elected him”, Debono said in January 2012.
The issues came to a head during a budget vote, where Debono voted against party lines. The budget failed to pass, and elections had to be called, ushering in a period of Labour Party dominance in the country.
The Labour Party has voted according to party lines ever since, refusing to vote against the government on significant corruption issues involving top officials and other socially liberal measures which do not have the support of the majority of Maltese.
Meanwhile, Delia has faced internal opposition ever since announcing his candidature for party leader. He has offered free votes to his MPs on social issues to help ease tensions. However, Delia has failed to win his entire party over, with a confidence vote and the introduction of new MPs critical of his leadership still looming.
However the vote proceeds tomorrow, one debate should emerge: should MPs always toe the party line when national interest is at stake?
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