No decent politician should touch Silvio Debono with a barge-pole
No decent politician should – would? – touch Silvio Debono with a barge-pole. Over the last few years it has become increasingly apparent what he is and how he does things.
Mario Demarco, the deputy Opposition leader, has been forced to relinquish Silvio Debono’s brief. The essential point remains that he hasn’t done it willingly, but only because the matter blew up and he was presented with Hobson’s choice. Now he should send Debono’s money back or donate it to charity. But unfortunately, he can’t do that because he’s worked for Debono for four years, since he first became deputy leader of the Opposition. He seems to think that this makes the situation better – as in, he wasn’t called in specifically for the St George’s Bay business – but it doesn’t. It makes it far worse.
Giving up the brief is not enough to make people comfortable. When you’ve worked for somebody for four years, you build up a relationship with them, and they have a hotline to you. They also have influence over you, and most importantly, they have access. This is all wrong.
Meanwhile, these are the key points of what the Opposition leader himself said this morning on the matter. And please will everyone stop calling it “the ITS project”. It is “the Silvio Debono project” for a massive conglomeration of really ugly flats and a cheesy ‘Hardrock Hotel’ that is set to ruin the bay even more than it has been ruined already.
“We have already spoken of our grave concern about this project, particularly about the value of this public land the way it was transferred without parliamentary approval.”
“The Opposition will now ask for an investigation by the Auditor General.”
“I expect members of parliament to avoid any kind of conflict of interest between their profession and their position in the party. I am making it clear that wherever there is any such conflict, a member of parliament has to break off all connections to anything which the Opposition objects to.”
“Mario de Marco has made this choice and has said that he will give up his professional involvement with the ITS project.” Note: IT IS NOT THE ITS PROJECT BUT THE SILVIO DEBONO PROJECT FOR ST GEORGE’S BAY. SILVIO DEBONO IS NOT GOING TO BE OPERATING THE CATERING COLLEGE.
“The Nationalist Party is in nobody’s pocket and I am not going to allow the party’s positions to be dictated by private interests.”
“The Nationalist Party should lead by example because people look to us to be exemplary and a good role model. Should they want a bad role model and a bad example, there is Joseph Muscat’s government for that.”
