Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/817563
4 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 APRIL 2017 News TIM DIACONO & MATTHEW AGIUS THE government Whip, God- frey Farrugia, partner of former Labour MP and now Democratic Party leader Marlene Farrugia, has announced that he will resign as Labour Whip in the wake of the allegations dealing with offshore companies that have dogged the Labour leadership. A magisterial inquiry is under- way to determine the veracity of allegations that Joseph Muscat's wife Michelle is the owner of the Panama company Egrant, which was then followed by an accusa- tion by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil that Muscat's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, was kicked back €100,000 from auditor Brian Tonna on the sale of Maltese pass- ports. Farrugia will stay on as a member of Labour's parliamentary group. His decision to resign as Whip comes a day after the Partit Demokratiku, spearheaded by his partner Marlene Farrugia, formal- ly announced a pre-electoral coali- tion with the Nationalist Party. In a strongly worded open letter to Joseph Muscat, the Haz-Zebbug family doctor said that the latest allegations had hurt him. "I deliberated this decision at length, I even had some sleep- less nights, and I remembered the first speeches I had given in Par- liament," he wrote. "I voted as a Whip, even when I was asked to vote against my own conscience. The public's faith in the historic Labour ideal should never have been betrayed and used to advance the agenda of a few people, who clearly don't have the national in- terest at heart, let alone in their minds." In a heartfelt appeal to Muscat, Farrugia said he was convinced that the Labour government could change the country's direction in its final year through civil mech- anisms, but said that it had to change if it was to regain its lost credibility. Godfrey Farrugia was appointed health minister upon Labour's election in 2013, which was his first political outing, but stepped down a year later on the back of a Cabinet reshuffle that was largely informed by the strained rela- tions between Labour's leadership and Farrugia's performance in the health ministry. The reshuffle made way to Kon- rad Mizzi to be appointed energy and health minister, while Farru- gia was later appointed Whip of the PL's parliamentary group in 2015. In a brief reaction to the resigna- tion, Joseph Muscat praised Far- rugia for his work as Whip and announced that Anthony Agius Decelis has been appointed as act- ing Whip. Farrugia also confirmed that he would stay on as a Labour MP, to try and pressure Muscat to change his direction. "I hope that I can bring the party leadership to its senses so that it stops using the people to protect its own power." In his open letter, Farrugia said that he had sensed the "hidden agenda" of people close to the Prime Minister from early on in Labour's legislature, and that La- bour officials had attempted to justify the errors of the govern- ment's ways. "Although the direc- tion was often not illegal, it had circumvented the law." He warned that the Office of the Prime Minister had started centralising power in its hands Prime Minister, After years of working in the community, in 2012 I chose to become part of a new political movement that offered to give our country a new hope. Through my participation, I wanted to weed out the inertia and greed of the PN government that had run its course and weakened. At that point in my life, I had wanted for nothing. I wanted to give my time, love and health to what was left of our land. I dreamt of healing the country, and I tried. I took it as my mission. My call was for a politics of compassion. We won a good majority. We had a new government, I had hope. We had started to build trust. We were a team inspired by the spirit of a movement. My respect for you motivated me. Thanks to you I was appointed health minister, and I worked in the name of 'Malta Taghna Lkoll' and in full human dignity. I mapped out the road ahead, and committed myself to build a foundation of accountability in the beleaguered health system we had inherited. Contrary to my wishes, I had to resign and refuse the offer of other ministries. I had sniffed out the hidden agenda of those who circle around you, people whom you trust. As an MP I worked and expressed my view in various debates, and as government whip I worked even more. I fulfilled my role to the best of my knowledge. Many times I took the initiative in different social sectors that addressed the evolution of the society we live in. I embraced inclusivity. I am satisfied that two suggestions of mine on youths, and another in favour of the introduction of medicine were accepted. I worked in favour of the sustainability of the natural environment, historical heritage, and the identity of what makes us who we are. I broached various socio-medical subjects in the permanent committee I chaired. I was the voice and engine in favour of the right to life from conception to death, and was steadfast in my defence of fundamental human rights. At these moments, I wholeheartedly defended the PL's values and tried to keep them alive, despite the differing views of Labour's women and youth arms. Tell me, how can you speak of civil rights when you are ready to deny the right to life by not protecting the most vulnerable (embryo freezing)? I led three government committees with strong determination. On an international level, I was a prime mover in the OSCE parliamentary assembly and moved two resolutions. Without hesitation I say that I am proud that I am part of a government that acquired such success in various sectors, but I must declare that we committed unforced errors, because the leadership did not act with maturity. It was obvious that we were never going to be perfect, because it is human to err. But when we started justifying our errors and calling what was wrong 'right', that's when a new story unfolded. I note that this direction was at times not illegal, but a legal skirting. I also have to say that the positive effect of every Budget was lost in some new ruckus until slowly, slowly Government Whip resigns as Labo 'I never wanted Machiavell And then they both went: Marlene Farrugia, the partner of Godfrey, walked away from the House of Representatives after announcing her resignation from the Labour Party in 2015. Godfrey Farrugia was then Labour whip THE RESIGNATION LETTER