Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1515420
A mistrusted and partial speaker? Mark Said is a veteran lawyer IT is amazing how politics can generate perceptions that easily tarnish an indi- vidual's reputation and integrity. I have had first-hand experience com- ing across Dr Angelo Farrugia's role and performance during the time when he was a member of the police corps and later as a practising lawyer within our court halls. Throughout all that time, I have no qualms in stating that he pos- sessed all it takes to come very close to the ideal in both fields of activity. Come 2013, he was elected Speaker of the House, succeeding Michael Fren- do, and his position was reconfirmed in 2017. After the last general election, he was elected for an unprecedented third time, endorsed only by the government side of parliament. Electing a Speaker only requires a sim- ple majority vote, meaning the govern- ment does not require the Opposition's backing to push its nominee through. In the last few years, the Speaker's performance has been anything but smooth, riddled as it was with raging controversies. The first incident that perplexed even legal experts was when, in May 2021, he abstained from a cast- ing vote on a matter of standards in public life involving Labour MP Carme- lo Abela, a move that could lead to the stalling of any future votes and effec- tively grant immunity to MPs. Barely three months later, four former parliamentary speakers chose not to take part in a symposium marking 100 years of Maltese parliament due to their belief that far more urgent and impor- tant matters had to be discussed. The Speaker had decided not to reconvene to discuss a no-confidence motion in then justice minister Edward Zammit Lewis following revelations of conver- sations he shared with alleged Daphne Caruana Galizia murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech. That was followed by another inci- dent a few months later, when not on- ly did he not take the action expected of his office, but he did not even carry out the instructions given to him by the Standards Committee. Rosianne Cuta- jar's now-notorious behaviour was de- fined as unethical by representatives of both sides of the House who formed part of the Standards Committee. The Standards Committee decided to let her off the hook with a simple, harsh 'tell- ing-off'. The Speaker failed to use the means at his disposal to ensure that the insti- tution that he is responsible for is not made a mockery of. In June 2022, former Standards Com- missioner George Hyzler published a report about a supplement published in Labour's newspaper the previous January on the occasion of Robert Ab- ela leading the party for two years. In his report, the Commissioner found that 18 ministers participated in the supplement and that all breached four articles of the Ministerial Code of Eth- ics by spending €16,700 in public funds for a manifestly partisan scope, and he recommended that the money be paid back. The Standards in Public Life commit- tee discussed the report in June of last year, with the two government MPs on the committee voting against adopting the report and the two opposition MPs voting in favour of adopting it. That left the casting vote in the Speak- er's hands, and he voted against its adoption on the basis that the guide- lines for political ads, which Hyzler re- ferred to in his report and in his deci- sion to find an ethics breach, were not enshrined in the law. The political impartiality of the Speak- er is one of the office's most important features. The incidences of indiscipline and paralysis in parliament have become standard operating procedure. This has resulted in a decline in the functioning of Malta's parliament. Could one reason be the lack of independence and impar- tiality of the Speaker? Mind you, it was during his 10-year tenure that substan- tial reforms were made to give greater autonomy to parliament, but that does not detract from calling into question his performance to date. Once elected, the Speaker is expected to be above parties and politics. He is the symbol of a nation's freedom and liberty. He belongs to all the members and holds the scales of justice evenly, irrespective of party or person. He is re- ferred to as the conscience and guardian of the House, representing its collective voice. He can discipline members and even override decisions by committees, and he has the sole discretion to permit an adjournment motion to be tabled or to admit a calling attention notice if the issue is of urgent public importance. The present practice of the Speaker being a former active member of the ruling party has the inevitable result of his refusing to allow any debate or discussion that may be essential to the national interest but may embarrass the ruling party. This is leading to constant disruption in parliament by the Oppo- sition. An impartial and independent Speaker is becoming an oxymoron. Parliament should take steps to strengthen the institution of the Speak- er and make it truly independent. Sep- aration of powers is part of the basic structure of our Constitution. If Parlia- ment ceases to be relevant, the founda- tion of our democracy will progressive- ly get weaker. Hence, the Speaker must take time-bound, non-controversial decisions to honour his constitutional obligation of independence and impar- tiality. The Speaker should have business-like habits, knowledge of parliamentary us- age, easy elocution, command of tem- per, strict impartiality, firmness and suavity, symmetrically developed so as to form a commanding presence. Perhaps the time has come to consid- er a constitutional amendment whereby the Speaker is elected by a two-thirds majority with the same procedure as that pertaining to the appointment of the Ombudsman. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 FEBRUARY 2024 4 OPINION Mark Said After the last general election, Anglu Farrugia (above) was elected Speaker for an unprecedented third time, endorsed only by the government