Updated 1810 – President George Vella will not remove Adrian Delia as Opposition Leader
The President of Malta, George Vella, concluded that PN leader Adrian Delia cannot be removed of his position. In a lengthy statement, Vella confirmed that Delia had lost support of a majority of Opposition MPs.
However, he explained how in the judgement he arrived to, the role of Opposition Leader should be held by the leader of the largest party in Opposition, currently the PN. With this consideration, Delia could not be removed.
In a message on Facebook, Adrian Delia asked for everyone who believes in the rule of law and respects the Constitution to respect this decision. On the other hand, the group of MPs and MEPs who want Delia out said that “this decision breaches the constitution and this is confirmed by a number of constitutional experts who spoke publicly”.
In their statement, anti-Delia MPs said that with a sense of responsibility and commitment towards the country and the PN, they will keep encouraging the PN to be led by a person with integrity and credibility, who puts the national and the PN’s interest before personal interest.
Updated 1300 – No new coronavirus cases in Malta
There were no new coronavirus cases in Malta during the past 24 hours. As no other person has recovered, five persons remain infected on the island.
Updated 1222 – Robert Abela wants Vitals document found today
Prime Minister Robert Abela has told reporters that the Memorandum of Understanding between Government and health operator Vitals had to be found by today. Yesterday, the Prime Minister indicated that this document had been lost.
The MoU is the subject of controversy after the Auditor-General identified collusion between government officials and the company involved, even indicating that an agreement had been reached between the two sides prior to the publication of the required tendering procedures.dia, Abela said he did not know how the document had been lost and did not answer whether there would be consequences if it is not discovered.
Updated 0843 – Newspaper Review
The Independent reports that a clause in the PN statute forbids the General Council from holding a vote of confidence in the party leader within less than two years since the last one. Adrian Delia won a vote of confidence in July last year.
The Times says that PN MPs have expressed frustration following three days of silence from the Office of the President since two-thirds of the parliamentary group declared they did not have confidence in Adrian Delia as Opposition Leader.
L-Orizzont says that President George Vella has come in for criticism by a section of PN MPs who declared no confidence in Opposition Leader Adrian Delia for the prolonged decision on the situation.
In-Nazzjon reports on the death of a 68-year-old woman after a fire broke out in her residence on Sunday morning. Investigators believe that Anna Spiteri attempted to walk out into the balcony but was blocked by the flames and smoke.
The Times says that the European Commission is urging Malta to consider changing a proposed natural gas pipeline from Sicily to lower-carbon fuels such as hydrogen or biomethane.
The Independent quotes incoming passengers who raised concerns over lack of social distancing while traveling to Malta. They said that people were wearing facemasks, but planes were full.
L-Orizzont quotes Prime Minister Robert Abela who said that, whoever is at the helm of the Nationalist Party, the Labour Party will keep winning. Abela said that it is up to the PN to solve its own problems.
In-Nazzjon says that Prime Minister Robert Abela made a partisan speech on Sunday morning, ignoring a damning report by the National Audit Office or warnings highlighted by Fitch Ratings,
L-Orizzont reports that the case against John Paul Woods starts today. The man is accused of murdering Charlene Farrugia in 2008.
Morning briefing
After the flurry of developments throughout the week between the Nationalist Party Headquarters in Tal-Pieta’ and the Office of the President in San Anton, an impasse seemed to reign over the weekend, as the future of PN Leader Adrian Delia continued to hang in the balance.
There were no public comments by Delia himself yesterday, why the so-called rebel PN MPs issued a statement in which they noted that the best defence case for the current Opposition Leader was being presented by Prime Minister Robert Abela. The Labour Leader suggested that the rebel MPs were seeking to twist the constitution to achieve their ambitions, reflecting the pro-Delia camp argument that Vella would only be able appoint Therese Comodini Cachia as Opposition leader if the rebel MPs split from the PN parliamentary group.
Sections of the media have reported that the rebel MPs have expressed disappointment that President Vella has been silent for close to two days at this point.
More travel destinations available
Government, through a legal notice, lifted the travel ban, imposed during the coronavirus pandemic to 28 more destinations, allowing people to travel to and from these destinations as from this Wednesday. This means however, that not Malta’s airport will not be opened to all destinations as previously suggested.
The legal notice will allow travel to and from: the United Kingdom, Belgium, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, China, Vatican City, Rwanda, Uruguay, Slovenia, Japan, Morocco, Thailand, Tunisia, Portugal, Romania, Lebanon, Indonesia, UAE, Turkey, Jordan and Liechtenstein.
The Health Department said on Sunday that there were no new cases of coronavirus, and two recoveries, meaning just five persons remain carrying the infection.
CDE News
