The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anġlu Farrugia is still weighing his options on whether he should or should not contest the next general election on the Labour Party ticket.

Dr Farrugia was a guest on INDEPTH, interviewed by Pierre Portelli, The Malta Independent’s Content Director.

Asked on the relationship with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Dr Farrugia was extremely coy and cautiously saying that “the problems I had were with Joseph Muscat not with the Labour Party,” leaving the door open to contest the next general election on the Labour Party ticket irrespective of his leader’s opinion on the matter.

Dr. Farrugia was party Deputy Leader when he was asked to step down by Joseph Muscat following comments he made on Magistrate Audrey Demicoli. He felt cheated out of the position of Deputy Prime Minister which went to his successor Louis Grech.

During the programme the Speaker of the House insisted that he never colluded with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, or with any other member of government to appoint his daughter as a magistrate.

The interview covered several issues ranging from when Dr Farrugia was in the Police Force back in the 1980s to his ambition to become Leader of the Labour Party which was quashed by the events preceding the 2013 election when he was quickly removed from his post of deputy leader and replaced by current Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech.

Asked to confirm if he believed that his daughter was appointed as magistrate, notwithstanding the fact that she wasn’t as yet eligible to the post due to lack of experience, in order to stop him from contesting the next general election, Dr Farrugia denied the claim and said that he is still keeping his options open and hasn’t as yet decided if he’ll contest or not.

“My daughter informed me by phone that she was offered the post,” said Dr Farrugia. He stressed that he wasn’t involved in the nomination and that there was “absolutely no collusion with Joseph Muscat on my daughter’s appointment to the bench and no one spoke to me about the nomination before they contacted her,” he said on INDEPTH.

He insisted that his daughter was already a successful lawyer and she embraced high moral values. “Her legal office was doing very well, she didn’t need any push,” said a proud Dr Farrugia.

INDEPTH can be watched on www.independent.com.mt, on FLiving TV, Smash TV and heard on Campus FM.