Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1007543
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 25 JULY 2018 3 NEWS WIth 30 seats for the Opposition, including the two held by Marlene and Godfrey Farrugia, any attempt to oust Delia will require the support of at least 16 Opposition MPs The path to parliamentary group supremacy within the PN 16 SEATS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 So far, the group has man- aged to list the support of 10 MPs, who are opposed to PN leader Adrian Delia's request for his predecessor to sus- pend himself from the party after the Egrant inquiry find- ings. Some of the MPs have taken to Facebook and twitter with the phrase "#not in my name #stronger together", while others did not use the hashtag and instead gave an explana- tion for their position. Sources said the rebel MPs could ask the President to appoint a new Opposition leader if they get the required numbers in Parliament. 16 MPs required Busuttil requires the sup- port of three more PN MPs to split the parliamentary group squarely down the middle. With the support from the Demo- cratic Party's two MPs, he will then be able to argue that Delia has lost the trust of a majority of Opposition MPs. Sources said that Busuttil's al- lies have over the past 24 hours put intense pressure on the three Gozitan MPs, Frederick Azzopardi, Chris Said and Da- vid Stellini. However, the same sources said that it is unlikely that the three will declare their allegiance to Busuttil. Stellini is the presi- dent of the administrative coun- cil and voted for the motion ask- ing Busuttil to resign. Said, who lost the leadership race to Delia, is understood to have his own misgivings on Bu- suttil after the former leader had backed leadership candidate Alex Perici Calascione, a move that split the vote of councillors at the first stage of voting. In a Facebook post this after- noon Said did not take sides and called for unity in the party. He cautioned against any move to get rid of anyone and urged the party to have an internal discus- sion on how best to fight corrup- tion. He added that by external- ising its differences the PN was playing into the hands of the La- bour Party and offered to act as a mediator to help achieve unity. A similar call for an internal discussion on the best way for- ward was made yesterday by MEP Roberta Metsola. Delia still commands a major- ity in Parliament and sources close to the party said he also en- joyed majority backing in the PN executive. Delia's decision to ask Busuttil to resign from the parliamentary group has received backing by the PN's administrative council. The next move would be to convene the party executive that would be asked to expel Busut- til if he refuses to go of his own accord. Attempts to contact Busuttil yesterday proved futile. Delia may face challenge for leadership of parliamentary Opposition What the Constitution says Article 90 of the Consti- tution states the following: "If, in the judgment of the President, a member of the House of Representatives other than the Leader of the Opposition, has become the leader in the House of the Opposition party hav- ing the greatest numeri- cal strength in the House or, as the case may be, the Leader of the Opposition has ceased to command the support of the largest single group of members in oppo- sition to the Government, the President shall revoke the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition." MATTHEW VELLA THE board of writers' society English PEN has refused suggestions by the son of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia that its trustee Anthony Julius, of law firm, Mischon de Reya, should step down. PEN said it had carried out "a careful in- ternal investigation" and found no reason to invite Julius, deputy chairman of the Mischon de Reya firm, to stand down as a trustee. Questions about Julius's appointment to the board in late 2017 were raised in May 2018 by the Caruana Galizia family who alleged that Mishcon de Reya had "sought to cripple [their mother] financially with action in UK courts." PEN said in a statement that Julius, who is also professor of law at University Col- lege London, was invited to stand for elec- tion because he had given considerable support to English PEN in recent years, having offered pro bono assistance in its work with writers and journalists at risk. "English PEN condemns the persecution and murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. English PEN also condemns legal actions – and the threat of legal actions – which are intended to have a crippling effect of the kind that has been reported by some media and journalists. "However, having been given access to Mishcon de Reya's correspondences on the matter, which it has carefully re- viewed, and having spoken and com- municated with the principal individu- als involved on both sides, as well as an independent human rights lawyer, the board has concluded that the material put before it does not support the claims that have been reported or made in this particular case." PEN said its decision was made on the basis the legal correspondence, which it said was not in breach of its founding principles, and that its trustees were ap- pointed as individuals, not as representa- tives of organisations, subject to full dis- closure of possible conflicts of interest. It also imparted its belief – part of its founding principles – that while PEN stands in favour of a free press, "since free- dom implies voluntary restraint, members pledge themselves to oppose such evils of a free press as mendacious publication, deliberate falsehood and distortion of facts for political and personal ends." PEN, however, said that as media organ- isations were radically reducing staffing, and their investigations being globalised, worldwide networks of independent blog- gers, freelance journalists and NGOs were left vulnerable to intimidation and worse. "We believe that English PEN is able to help confront this new set of chal- lenges…" PEN tells Caruana Galizia: Mischon lawyer won't be removed