Watch: PL MP – ‘I Made A Mistake When I Voted Against Jean Paul Sofia Public Inquiry’
Labour MP Malcolm Paul Agius Galea has admitted he made a mistake when he toed the party line and voted against a public inquiry into Jean Paul Sofia’s death last July.
Agius Galea made this frank admission when he was interviewed on the F Living Show last week and faced a caller who described him as a “nagħag ta’ Bendu” for voting against the inquiry.
“He is right,” the MP admitted. “I believe that I made a mistake when I voted against it and I don’t have a problem saying so.”
“Back then, my mind was operating in a legal manner and I even sought advice from the Prime Minister himself, who is a lawyer, on whether our argument was legally sound. He said it is and other lawyers assured me the same.”
Although he maintains that this advice was correct from a legal point of view, he stressed that politics cannot be reduced to solely legal arguments.
“Sometimes in politics, you must work as a politician and not as a doctor or a lawyer. You need to vote with your mind, rather than your heart. In this case, things were way different than what we thought they would be.”
“We were legally correct but politically wrong.”
Agius Galea said he was aware he could have gained a lot of political capital by voting in favour of the public inquiry, and that doing so would have turned him into the “champion of Malta”.
The vote was marred by scenes of Sofia’s aggrieved family screaming at PL MPs from the Strangers’ Gallery, and four days afterwards, Robert Abela performed a stunning U-turn and announced that a public inquiry would in fact be held.
Agius Galea praised Sofia’s mother Isabelle Bonnici for getting her message across in public and for giving a voice to many women facing similar situations.
However, he warned that people aren’t yet aware of the pain of other grieving mothers, including those whose children committed suicide due to excess stress.
“They are crying in silence and I want to give them a voice,” he said.
Do you agree with Malcolm Paul Agius Galea’s statement?
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