Joseph is in Italy, the Prez is in Peru, and You Know Who is looking for a cock-fight
Yessss!!! Rizultat!!!! Joseph ha jehodni l-Italja ghal gimghatejn. Kemm se nixtri bwiez tar-rubber bil-Gucci print.
Joseph has shot off to Italy for two weeks with Michelle (il-vera young, hip and adventurous, God bless) after saying that the prime minister should speak to the president. That One from Haz-Zebbug and That Other One from Hal Ghaxaq have also made their feelings known in this regard.
But the president, busy doing missionary work in Peru (oh, this country), has had a stern message dispatched from his office. He has since discovered that there is somebody in Hal Ghaxaq who knows more about his constitutional role than he and his advisers do.
timesofmalta.com reports:
It is not within the President’s constitutional function to intervene in matters that take place outside the House, the Office of the President said today.
Referring to several comments made in the past days about the President’s role in the present political situation, the office said that the issue of whether or not the government enjoyed a Parliamentary majority was determined by Parliament.
Last week Nationalist backbencher and lawyer Franco Debono noted that the President should get involved in the situation.
Contacted following the Office of the President’s statement, he referred to section 87 of the Constitution which states “The Prime Minister shall keep the President fully informed concerning the general conduct of the government of Malta and shall furnish the President with such information as he may request with respect to any particular matter relating to the government of Malta.”
This, he said, showed that yes the President should request information and involve himself in the issue.
The President, Dr Debono said, has the right and duty to get involved limitedly in the manner stipulated by the Constitution.
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If that is what section 87 actually states, then it puts the onus on the Prime Minister to inform the President, if the President requests the information.
It does not specifically place any responsibility on the President to request the information.
Actually it is the Prime Minister who, at his discretion informs the President about matters of political interest outside Parliament.
One would think that, like in this case, the President would have access to all the information which he or his office requires and I would not expect the PM to wire the Pres informing him that JPO resigned from the Nationalist Party.
If JPO resigned his Parliamentary seat, the President would need to be informed for the simple reason that it is he who would sign the Writ for a bye-election to be held.
Angus Black is right, the president only has the constitutional right and not the obligation to ask for information, the keyword in the text is ‘may ask’ (jista’ jitlob, in the Maltese version) and not ‘must ask’ (obligat jitlob).
The same applies to the fact that the president has the constitutional right to dissolve parliament at any time by proclamation if he sees fit but not the obligation to do so. (Sec 76 of the Constitition).
That’s one crappy lawyer I wouldn’t want on my side.
http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8566&l=1
Kemm hu cock-fighter biezel.
Since Joseph Muscat also said that we now have two prime ministers, Franco Debono must have thought that Joseph was referring to him in at least one case, possibly in both cases.
Joseph is in Italy. Anglu is in Italy. Is there anyone else from the Labour camp in Italy?
Have you checked about Nuxellina?
They seem to be on a mission.
Are we sure they did not take a long haul flight from Rome to Peru?
Tgħid il-“bwiez tar-rubber bil-Gucci print” se tixtrihom mingħand il-‘Vu cumpra’ fuq Ponte Sant’ Angelo?