Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil insisted that the PN was always in favour of the ‘gay marriage’ Bill but had to abstain in the best interest of children, because the party, and a “very strong” majority of people are not convinced on the gay adoptions issue.
PN leader Simon Busuttil said the party abstained because the government is a decisive one that wants to divide the country instead of uniting it. “We made it clear from day one that the gay adoptions clause should not have been part of this law, but the government did not listen and it persisted on purpose, so that there would be no consensus on the issue. We asked the government to prepare society for this change in the best interests of children, because it is not prepared. This is the reason why we abstained.”
Dr Busuttil insisted that the PN is not using the government as an excuse for abstaining. “We want to explain to the people that our abstention is in fact a position, and not a retreat. There were other choices, like a free vote. But a free vote was exactly what Joseph Muscat wanted. We could have not attended the Parliamentary session, but we did. We voted in the way we did and we explained our position.”
The PN Leader said that, on Monday, the Opposition had done its part on civil liberties. “We also voted on another law, the constitutional amendment against discrimination based on sexual orientation and we voted on a motion we presented on student data protection.”
Whilst admitting that it was difficult for the PN Parliamentary Group to reach a decision on abstaining, given the different opinions, Dr Busuttil said that he was proud that the party had remained united, despite the government’s attempts to put it in disarray.
When asked for his personal opinion on the Civil Unions Bill, the PN Leader insisted that the common interests of the party have to come before personal interests. “It would be a mistake if we all said how we would have voted.” He denied that the PN was putting its own interests before the rights of minorities by adopting this attitude. “We put other interests first, like the interests of children. Our reservations on this law are motivated by the interests of children, which do not feature in this Bill. If the interests of children had been guaranteed and gay adoptions studied fully, we would have voted in favour of this law.” The Opposition Leader also accused the government of not wanting the PN to be in favour of the law, or of the gay community. “They did not want us to celebrate with the gay community alongside them.”
When asked how he would have voted had the party been given a free vote, Dr Busuttil said: “I did not want a free vote because my first duty is as Leader of the Opposition. I am speaking as the PN Leader and I am not ready to shed that responsibility. My first duty is to ensure that a law is good and that my party is united.”
Dr Busuttil said the PN discussed the issue for that past six months and even consulted a number of experts, after which is was decided that the Bill did not guarantee the interests of children because the government was trying to push things too fast. That is the reason why the PN asked for Civil Unions and gay adoptions to be treated separately, with the latter being discussed at a later stage and only when society is prepared for such a step.
Dr Busuttil was asked how many PN MPs had been in favour or against the Bill, but he would only say that the important thing was the unanimous decision to abstain.
When asked how he felt walking out of Parliament and being booed by the LGBT community, the PN Leader claimed that the crowd’s hostile reaction was “orchestrated” by the PL. “They tried to create a climate in which they could attack us, despite the fact that we did our duty as best we saw fit and in the best interests of children. As we were coming out of Parliament we were insulted, but in politics you have to take decisions and take responsibility for them. We are ready to shoulder that responsibility.”