Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/595929
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 NovEmbEr 2015 5 News A ONE NIGHT STAY AT HILTON WITH DINNER AT BLUE ELEPHANT We are nearly at 100,000 LIKES! Like our page and create an online account with www.maltatoday.com.mt to be in a chance to win. Executive lounge facilities include: î3ULYDWHFKHFNLQ FKHFNRXW î%UHDNIDVWLQWKHORXQJH î$IWHUQRRQ7HDZLWKFDNHVDQGSDVWULHV î3UHGLQQHUGULQNVLQFOXGLQJFDQDS«VDQGDOFRKROLF drinks î7HDFRIIHHDQGQRQDOFRKROLFGULQNV available throughout the day 7+(5220 $FFRPPRGDWLRQLQRQHRIRXU&RQWHPSRUDU\([HFXWLYH5RRP including breakfast and Executive Lounge facilities Former MPs favourite to fill in vacant seat Continues FroM Page 1 On Mon- day, Opposition leader Simon Bu- suttil insisted that there was no reason Cassar should resign from the Nationalist Party, despite rev- elations that the former minister had failed to declare over €8,000 in house works paid for by Joe Gaf- farena – a property entrepreneur associated with MPs on both sides of the House. "After meeting with Cassar yes- terday, I came to the conclusion that his position as culture spokes- person was no longer tenable," Bu- suttil said. "However, I didn't think that the case merited asking him to resign from the party or from par- liament." Busuttil drew comparisons with the way Manuel Mallia was forced to resign as home affairs minister in 2014 but retained his parliamentary seat on the government benches. "If [planning parliamentary secretary] Michael Falzon resigns from his Cabinet role, I wouldn't also expect him to resign from parliament or the Labour Party," he said, equating the Opposition's shadow cabinet to the government's Cabinet of minis- ters. "Cassar didn't do anything illegal and was not involved in misuse of public funds," he said, adding that he would not shy away from taking harsher action against the former health minister "if new develop- ments come to light". The embattled Cassar on Sunday announced he would no longer oc- cupy the role of Opposition spokes- person for culture, after MaltaTo- day broke the story about works in his house being paid for by Gaf- farena. Former MPs could fill in vacant seat Once the dust settles attention will turn to who will fill in Joe Cassar's parliamentary seat on the seventh electoral district. Cassar's resigna- tion could be a blessing in disguise for Simon Busuttil, who has inher- ited a Parliamentary group with a fair share of baggage and skeletons in the closet. Busuttil's drive to clean up the party could be aided by Cassar's exit but casual elections are a Pan- dora's box and the substitute could further embarrass the opposition. One of Cassar's possible sub- stitutes is former parliamentary secretary Tony Abela, who was considered as the Lawrence Gonzi government's PR nightmare when he served as parliamentary secre- tary in charge of defence between 2003 and 2008. Abela had also submitted his nomination for the casual election held to fill in Gonzi's seat in 2013 after the former Prime Minister resigned in the wake of the calami- tous electoral defeat. However, Gonzi's seat was taken by the PN former financial control- ler, Antoine Borg, who beat off the competition of six other candidates despite only getting 197 first count votes in the election itself. Abela was the last candidate to be eliminated in the 2013 casual elec- tion and together with former MP Peter Micallef is favourite to fill in the seat vacated on the district which includes Rabat, Zebbug and Dingli. A notary by profession, Abela is the son of former Nationalist MP Sammy Abela. Notorious for turn- ing up at PN telethons waving wads of cash given by undeclared donors, the Rabat notary was strongly rep- rimanded for inciting racism and xenophobia when he kept talking of "a tsunami of immigrants" reach- ing Malta's shores in 2005. He was also caught misleading parliament, when he alleged that immigrants had refused the AFM's assistance as they were passing through Maltese waters in Novem- ber 2005. MaltaToday had published the AFM log book clearly showing that far from refusing assistance, the immigrants were never asked by the AFM rescuers in the first place. Hours later, 29 of them drowned off the coast of Sicily. Other potential candidates are conservative Mosta mayor and former MP Edwin Vassallo, former Rabat mayor Rudolph Grima, archi- tect and former MP Philip Mifsud and Dingli local councillor David Vassallo. In the unpredictable casual elec- tions, candidates must achieve 50% of the quota established in the general election. The quota of the eighth district in 2008 was 4,075, meaning that in order to get elected a candidate must garner 2,038 votes to snatch the seat. In the unlikely eventuality that nobody reaches the quota or no- body submits a nomination, the PN would co-opt somebody to fill in Cassar's seat. The last MP to be co- opted was Prime Minister Joseph Muscat who took up the seat volun- tarily vacated by Joseph Cuschieri in 2008. Political party reactions In a statement, Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola, said Cassar had taken the only possible honourable way out. "He did well to stop trying to jus- tify himself in what was definitely totally unacceptable behaviour when he accepted payment by oth- ers for works in his house which amount to nearly €8,000. "We are often getting stories about Maltese politicians from both par- ties in Parliament who were or are still involved in deals with certain big business people whose phi- losophy is 'make hay while the sun shines' and who, in fact, are ending up influencing political decisions, even of national importance. The time has come for a real clean up in Maltese politics." On its part, Labour accused Si- mon Busuttil of being "weak" for not taking the decision to sack Cas- sar. "Busuttil first said that Cassar was a person of integrity, then toyed around with a ridiculous resigna- tion from spokesperson, and on Monday said there was nothing and that Cassar had no need of resign- ing." Tony Abela was caught misleading parliament, when he alleged that immigrants had refused the AFM's assistance as they were passing through