He will find an escape route because of the wrong wording or that he’s been misreported by Mr Karl Zidlu l-Bzar.

Sorry T’other but, about Chris Said, he was correct and Bondi was wrong. I think maybe Lou wanted to put words into a seasoned-lawyer’s mouth. There’s not much chance of success with that, in most cases.

About the phone, I couldn’t make up my mind but it is a “smart” phone that can be used as a word processor for his notes as well. Nothing terribly wrong with that.

David, as you correctly said, that was about a “no-confidence” vote. I understood Daphne to be referring to the vote on budget-implementation, which I think Dr Debono will refrain from attending.

This brinkmanship comes at a cost. Even when talking to Bondi, he said the same thing and had to explain the difference between Bondi’s assertions and what he actually said and did in the previous instance when he abstained in one and supported the other. Yes, he is being precise and pedantic (still correct I readily add) without being in any way sesquipedalian or jargonistic , therefore not too difficult to see where he’s coming from… in my opinion, as always.

sound clip at;

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Cabinet-reshuffle-Gonzi-cuts-ministers-pays-with-honoraria-cut-201216

and

http://www.maltastar.com/pages/r1/ms10dart.asp?a=19057

He said it at his marathon press conference last Saturday: “nivvota kontra”.

He’s now bandaging his foot.

Seems to me that he has no plans but just moving from one thing to the next, as long as it keeps him in the limelight. Which may be the only reason why he does not pull the plug, because he knows that he will then disappear from the scene.

At the moment he is more important to Malta’s governance than the PM, and he gets hours of prime time slots on TV. I think he will continue to play this game for the next 12 months. As soon as election is called, he is Mr Nobody.

Incidentally this is where he says that he will vote against a motion of confidence. http://www.maltastar.com/pages/r1/ms10dart.asp?a=19057

He said he would vote against in the case of a motion of confidence not the budget implementation bill.

He knows he represents the PN voters (of the fifth district).

He said that he will never support Labour(Joseph).

He said he will not support the Government lead by Gonzi.

Someone told me (can anyone please confirm) that he said he will not attend parliament.

Conclusion : we will have our laws carried by the casting vote of the Speaker who is an unelected Member of Parliament, like in 1998 when Miriam Spiteri Debono was speaker.

We always said and will always say that it’s not the seats that count but the votes which represent those seats that give the government legitimacy.
We elect a party to govern for a whole term under a set of ideas, in the 2008 election the majority voted not only for the PN but for GonziPN . Labour have been constantly harping sarcastically about GonziPN for the last four years or so , how could this have escaped from their minds?

Words have precise meanings for lawyers. This is what Lawyer Paul Borg Olivier probably said:
“Hermann Schiavone is not a candidate of the PN and has been directed not to present himself as one.”

We read this report on The Times Of Malta on line:

“http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111228/local/herman-schiavone-is-not-a-pn-candidate-party.400113

This is what a seasoned journalist from The Times of Malta reported the next day on the print version:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111229/local/Debono-complaint-adds-more-headaches.400136

And this is what the inexperienced journalist Annaliza Borg mis-reported on The Malta Independent:

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=137433

Quoting from MaltaToday:

“This week, Debono also said that if Labour presents a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister, he would “definitely vote with the Opposition.

In comments to MaltaToday Franco Debono said he would not be supporting the government in any votes, including a prospective money bill – the Budget Measures Implementation Bill – whose rejection has the same effect as a vote of no-confidence.”

Would this be an attempt to fool Joseph Muscat into counting his chickens, hedging his bets on a no confidence vote and making him lose it with an abstention and a vote from the Speaker?

Would a person do all this for his ego? Surely this is not for democracy or the people.

I noticed him play with words with Lou Bondi yesterday when discussing Chris Said. On the same lines, though, he said he never “spoke” to John Dalli.

Would he be using his mobile as a prompter following Peppi Azzopardi’s example on Inkontri? Lou Bondi was quick to pick this up. He recognized the pattern. Then the phone started to ring.