Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/847822
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 Newspaper post PAGE 9 • Editorial FULL STORY ON PAGE 5 WEDNESDAY • 12 JULY 2017 • ISSUE 546 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Fenech's leaked letter on gay marriage exposes a deeper rift inside the PN MIRIAM DALLI A letter that Nationalist former fi- nance minister Tonio Fenech sent to party leader Simon Busuttil and the rest of the parliamentary group has ex- posed the former minister's anger and disappointment at the position adopt- ed by the opposition over the Marriage Equality Bill. The letter, running to over 2,000 words, was leaked to the La- bour Party's me- dia. It confirms that the posi- tion adopted by the PN had not been d i s c u s s e d with the p a rl i a m e n- tary group – like the electoral programme that "was not discussed" before being pre- sented to the general council in a con- clusive format. For Fenech, the Nationalist Party spent the past four years trying to si- lence those who have internally disa- greed with it and was now on course to marginalise Catholic and Christian voters. He argues that the PN not only lost gay voters a long time ago, but would soon also lose the "influential" Catholic/ Christian voter. In his own words, the for- mer minister did not con- test "with the Nationalist Party", because he realised that "writing in a newspaper has more power than sitting in a parliamentary group". He accused the PN of having "acquired an art of silencing those who had differing opin- ions, not through dialogue and conviction, but through the simple manoeuvres of postponement of dis- cussion". The party would allegedly bring up the pretext that a Bill would not yet have been published. It also transpires, from Fenech's letter, that it was not the first time that the party's position would be pronounced before even the different matters would have been dis- cussed within the parliamentary group. Taking supporters for granted Fenech has accused the party of tak- ing people like him for granted, believ- ing that they would always stand with the PN, no matter what. "Every day I come across more and more people who feel that this home has been stolen from them, not through some democratic process, but through a sense of denial for what we stood for, even our most basic values. PAGE 7 Tonio Fenech Air Malta chairperson 'asked to resign' Some 200 people attended a silent protest organised last night in opposition to the Marriage Equality Bill, which is expected to be voted into law this evening. AS Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi plans to save Malta's beleaguered national airline, a new strategy for the airline is certain to bring about changes in Air Malta's leadership, with chairperson Maria Micallef being the first person to resign. Industry sources told MaltaToday that Micallef 's resignation was "in line" with the new vision for the air- line. She was appointed to the post three years ago. Contacted by MaltaToday, Mi- callef chose not to comment. "I have no comment to make at this stage," she said, when asked to comment about her departure from the airline. However, the well-informed sourc- es insisted that the government had already accepted her resignation. It is as yet unclear whom the gov- ernment plans to appoint as the new chairperson, but airline sources said that Micallef was "asked to leave" in light of the change in strategy. Micallef was appointed chairper- son of the airline in 2014, having spent 15 years occupying various senior positions within the Mizzi Organisation. Throughout this pe- riod, she served as General Man- ager of General Soft Drinks Co. Ltd. She was also the first woman ap- pointed as member on the Europe- an Technical Council of The Coca Cola Company to travel widely across several countries, advising cross functional teams. Mizzi, appointed minister for tourism following the June general election, has on several occasions hinted at significant changes in the restructuring of the airline – especially one that would see Air Malta start making money. PAGE 5 Maria Micallef