Four former Speakers boycott Speakers' Symposium
Four former Speakers said on Thursday they will stay away from a Symposium being organised by the current Speaker, because the country has more important and urgent matters to deal with. The Speakers' symposium is due to be held on Tuesday to make the centenary since the Maltese parliament was formed. Alfred Bonnici, Lawrence Gonzi, Anton Tabone and Louis Galea said they wrote to Speaker Anġlu Farrugia on Wednesday, saying that they had agreed that in current circumstances, they did not feel it appropriate that parliament should dedicate its time to a ceremonial event such as this when the country faced more important and urgent matters. They suggested that the activity be postponed. The former Speakers did not specifically mention the circumstances they were referring to, but the reference was clearly to the Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry report which found that the state should bear responsibility for the murder after having created a climate of impunity. Speaker Anġlu Farrugia earlier this week rejected an Opposition request for the summoning of parliament to debate a no-confidence motion in Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis for having, in Whatsapp calls with Yorgen...