Will Gonzi dissolve parliament before 1 October?

MP Franco Debono insists that parliament should meet before 1 October when it is due to open, provided Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi does not dissolve it before to call an early election. Debono has said he is ready to present a no-confidence motion against Health Minister Joe Cassar because of his poor performance in office.

Debono believes that at least four other PN MPs would have done a better job as Health Minister than Joe Cassar. Debono says in his latest blog that Cassar was made minister because he is in the good books of Richard Cachia Caruana. He reminds his readers that former Minister Louis Deguara revealed that he signed the collective agreement with doctors because he was ordered to from above, even if he disagreed with it. Debono writes: “this revelation means that not only backbenchers have no say but also ministers.” Power is just concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister’s Head of Secretariat Edgar Galea Curmi, Richard Cachia Caruana and Austin Gatt.

Debono goes on to ask what happened to the Primary Healthcare Reform of Minister Cassar which was rejected by the PN parliamentary group.

Asked whether he still intends to present a no-confidence motion in Minister Cassar, Debono says: “Parliament is still in summer recess, courtesy of Dr Gonzi. I have already made it clear, this is sending out the wrong message and impinging negatively on the dignity of Parliament and that Parliament should reconvene earlier.”

Parliament is set to meet again on 1 October but might not meet at all if Prime Minister Gonzi calls an early election to avoid being defeated in parliament.