The State opening of the 11th Parliament was held with all the usual pomp and circumstance yesterday, as the 69 Members of Parliament attended a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Paul Cremona at St John’s Co-Cathedral, and then walked to the President’s Palace for the first parliamentary sitting.

Parts of St John Street and Republic Street were closed off with barricades just before Mass ended, much to the frustration of some pedestrians who wanted to cross the street.

Police told them that until the ceremony was over, they would have to walk all the way to Melita Street and on to Merchants Street if they wanted to leave the cordoned off area.

Meanwhile, a sizeable crowd gathered to watch the MPs as they walked out of St John’s Co-Cathedral and some cheered as Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi appeared with his wife Kate and family members.

In St George’s Square, the MPs were greeted by a few protestors from Moviment Graffiti, a pressure group that claims to be in favour of freedom and radical democracy.

Blowing whistles and taunting the MPs, the protestors carried banners reading “Demokrazija Dittatorjali” (dictatorial democracy), while making references to the Safi supermarket and the privatisation of several entities.

In the meantime, as the MPs gathered in Parliament, former Nationalist MP Louis Galea was appointed to act as an interim Speaker and Labour MP Carmelo Abela was appointed deputy Speaker.

The government recently invited the Opposition to nominate one of its MPs to act as Speaker of the House, but no agreement has yet been reached, particularly since the government’s invitation was subject to a pairing agreement.

The Opposition, on the other hand, said that until a new Labour leader is elected, pairing would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Pairing is an arrangement where a member of the Opposition is paired with a government MP and does not vote when the government MP is not present in the House and cannot vote because of official business elsewhere.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said Dr Galea was prepared to step down if an agreement with the Opposition was reached.

In his first public appearance since he resigned as Labour leader following the 8 March general election, Opposition Leader Alfred Sant said he hoped the government and the Opposition would reach an agreement in the coming weeks.

Dr Sant also pointed out that the reason he had voted against the appointment of Anton Tabone to act as Speaker in 1998 was because he was not an MP.

Dr Tabone failed to be elected to Parliament in 1998, but made it in 2003, when he was appointed to serve a second term as Speaker.

After he took his oath of allegiance, Dr Galea noted that he had served as an MP for 32 years and has been involved in politics for almost 40 years, but his new role as Speaker, even if temporary, will be different to the way he worked as a politician over the past years.

Dr Galea apologised for any past mistakes committed during his political life. He said that although he was a former Nationalist MP, now, in his new role as Speaker, he would be above partisan politics.

Dr Galea said he was aware of discussions taking place between the two parties and was ready to step down if an agreement is reached to nominate an MP as speaker.

“I was motivated by the national interest when I accepted to take up this post and I will help the two sides of the House to come to an agreement in the best interest of our Parliament,” he said.

Dr Galea failed to be elected to Parliament this time round. He was a minister in all Nationalist governments since 1987, holding the portfolios of social policy, home affairs and more recently education.

After each of the MPs took their oath of allegiance during yesterday’s first session of the 11th Parliament, a fanfare was played as President Eddie Fenech Adami entered the House, and following his speech, Parliament was adjourned to Monday evening.