Speaker Anġlu Farrugia once more suspended this evening's parliamentary sitting during question time as debate on the first parliamentary question on the list degenerated into yet another shouting match.
Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg's somewhat crude assertion that he "did not orgasm on speculation" (ma norgażmax ruħi bl-ispekulazzjoni) in reply to a supplementary question appears to have paved the way for the degeneration of proceedings in Malta's House of Representatives.
In the original parliamentary question, shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi asked Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela to state how many police officers have been boarded out in the past two years, and how much it took for the process to be completed after they requested to be boarded out.
Mr Abela is abroad on official business, and the answer was thus provided on his behalf by Dr Borg, who revealed that ten members of the police force had been boarded out and provided information on the time required to process their applications.
In a supplementary question, Dr Azzopardi highlighted that while nine of them were boarded out months after their application, one particular inspector was boarded out after just five days.
He questioned whether this was due to surprising efficiency or due to favouritism, but it was at this point that the parliamentary secretary revealed that he was not particularly aroused by speculation.
This led PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami to insist that such "disgusting language" was not appropriate for parliament, prompting an impromptu, off-mic intervention by Transport Minister Joe Mizzi.
Dr Fenech Adami asked whether the police inspector could be named and the circumstances behind his boarding out. But he also asked whether this person was already promised a well-paid job in a public entity.
Dr Borg, however, said that he did not have such information at hand, reiterating this in reply to other questions on a similar theme. He also said that he could not answer government MP Anthony Agius Decelis, who leapt to the government's defence by referring to an apparent case involving a PN activist who had helped people get boarded out under the previous government.
Undeterred, Dr Fenech Adami then asked a question to Social Solidarity Minister Michael Farrugia, asking him whether he could confirm whether being boarded out in a handful of days was normal.
But Dr Borg once more stepped in to reply, prompting veteran opposition MP Francis Zammit Dimech to call for a point of order as an increasing number of MPs shouted over each other.
The Speaker then sought to calm things down, but interruptions by MPs from both sides of the house led him to suspend the sitting for a few minutes.
When the sitting resumed, he said that such interruptions were an insult to the House of Representatives, but opposition whip David Agius subsequently intervened, stating that the Speaker had the right to take other steps when individual MPs misbehaved, and not simply suspend the sitting.
But Dr Farrugia said that he was well aware of such procedures, and said that he did not think it wise to apply procedures used 30 years ago.
"Everyone should understand that their behaviour should be different now," he said.
Government MP Marlene Farrugia then intervened, stating that as an opposition MP in the previous legislature, she had been very disappointed by the way questions were dismissed by the previous government and that she had hoped the new government would have acted differently.
"I expect that when someone is asked a question, they answer it, as they are not answering the opposition but the general public," the MP said.
Dr Fenech Adami then reiterated his question to anyone in cabinet who could answer, but to no avail.
The suspension of the sitting did not put an end to MPs' misbehaviour, as off-mic shouting continued intermittently afterwards.