Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/774426
PAUL COCKS SALVU Mallia, outspoken can- didate of the Nationalist Party, acknowledged for the first time yesterday that he would toe the party line and follow any in- structions given by the party's leader. The former TV presenter told MaltaToday that, if he were ever to be asked by opposition leader Simon Busuttil to curb his way of speaking – the PN calls it "colourful", others "vulgar" – he would bow his head to the lead- ership and obey. "If I am within a party, I have to toe the party line," he said, acknowledging that some party members and supporters did not necessarily approve of his style. Mallia was intercepted on his way in to the PN's headquarters where the party's candidates were called for a meeting to dis- cuss a "strategy that could bring down the most corrupt govern- ment in the country's history". And while most candidates, both new and some veteran fig- ures – including current mem- bers of parliament – chose to ignore questions put to them or repeat the official subject of the meeting, Mallia had no objec- tion to stop and chat. He admitted that Busuttil had, on occasion, called him to speak to him about some episode or other but insisted he had never been told to do any- thing yet. "What I love about this party is that they don't tell you, 'Lis- ten, you have to support these friends of ours, even though we know they are corrupt'," Mallia said. "Instead, they call you to dis- cuss matters, to get to the bot- tom of things in a civil manner." He said Busuttil had not said anything to him about his (Mal- lia's) decision to hold a one-man (and one-dog) protest against "the corrupt regime" outside Castille on Saturday. "To be honest, he has not spo- ken to me about it at all," he said. Mallia said that messages on Facebook and other social me- dia platforms made it clear that some party supporters found his style distasteful or did not agree with his view on certain issues. "To those people I say 'Do not vote for Salvu Mallia' because I would definitely not vote for someone I did not like," he said. WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 Newspaper post PAGE 9 • Editorial WEDNESDAY • 18 JANUARY 2017 • ISSUE 505 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY PAGE 6 Salvu Mallia backtracks: 'I'll do as Simon says' Pro-lifers kick-start legal procedures against emergency contraception MAT THEW AGIUS JUST a month after the morn- ing-after pill was introduced into the Maltese market, op- ponents Life Network Malta (LNM) moved to kick-start le- gal procedures, insisting that the emergency contraceptive should not be made available. Chairperson Miriam Sciber- ras and deputy chairman Klaus Vella Bardon yesterday filed a judicial protest "to protect the right to life in all its stages". Filed against the Medicines Authority, the pro-life move- ment said it was holding the authority legally responsible for its actions. The morning-after pill was introduced after 102 women went to court demanding its introduction. While the emer- gency contraceptive was not available, roundabout methods were used to provide the same effects – albeit being more dan- gerous. EllaOne, the MAP, was put on the market after lengthy debates before a joint parlia- mentary committee, which saw MPs from both sides of the House presenting 10 recom- mendations on the sale of the morning-after pill. Levonorgestrel, another morning-after pill, falls under Article 126(a), which states that in the absence of a mar- keting authorisation for a me- dicinal product, the licensing authority may authorise the product in Malta, provided that it is authorised in another EU/ EEA member state. The recommendation also al- lows pharmacists and doctors to be conscientious objectors, meaning that they can refuse to sell the emergency contra- ceptive. By way of example, St James Hospital has refused to stock the morning-after pill. PAGE 5 Miriam Sciberras Salvu Mallia: "I am attracting all good-thinking people, honest people"