PL claims crisis-hit PN is without a leader or direction

Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne and Labour MP Glenn Bedingfield hit out at the Opposition Nationalist Party yesterday, accusing it of being in a state of crisis and the party’s leader, Adrian Delia, of having no direction and of being unable to lead his own party, let alone the entire country.

The were addressing a press conference following Wednesday’s parliamentary sitting, during which six PN MPs abstained in a vote on a motion presented by the Opposition regarding a legal notice granting prospective parents leave to undergo medically assisted procreation.

“What happened in Parliament was historic; we never had nine MPs (Claudette Buttigieg was abroad and not present for the vote) who voted against the Opposition leader’s line,” Bedingfield said.

“The Opposition continuously says that the country is in crisis, when their own party is divided; Delia had pledged throughout his campaign that he would provide a free vote on moral issues, and he could not even do that,” he continued.

Fearne was quick to agree with his parliamentary colleague, and said that those who voted in favour of the PN motion would prove to be on the wrong side of history.

“The vote was one of principle, based on whether the government should legislate and castigate people’s who choose a different path or sexual relationship.”

“The motion unified the PL, but divided the PN.”

Both Bedingfield and Fearne stressed that democracy requires a strong opposition, in order to act as a government watchdog and maintain the country’s institutions.

“The PN has so many internal problems, it is not even doing its duty as an opposition. Can you imagine presenting an alternative government?” Fearne said.