Opposition Leader Alfred Sant yesterday declared that he will not accept Xarabank’s invitation to participate in Friday’s programme as a guest with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi because “it is not the ideal context for a political debate”, but Xarabank presenter Peppi Azzopardi stated that he will still go ahead with the programme.

And, in a letter issued in the evening, Prime Minister Gonzi confirmed that he sees no reason why Dr Sant should refuse to participate in a debate that has used the same format for a number of years, and has accepted Xarabank’s invitation to attend.

In a press conference held in the morning, Dr Sant said that he had sent a letter to the Prime Minister explaining that he decided not to accept Xarabank’s invitation for Friday’s programme.

The letter also included a copy of the correspondence between Dr Sant’s executive assistant Karen Magro and Where’s Everybody, producers of Xarabank.

Ms Magro, on behalf of Dr Sant, had sent a number of questions, on Tuesday 20 November, about the subject of the political debate, the running order and length of the interventions of the main participants.

She also asked if video clips will be used and their content, whether the audience will participate and positioning of the cameras. The letter also asked for clarifications as to whether adverts will be included in the programme and their running order, and the role of the moderator.

The following day, Norman Vella, from Xarabank replied to all of the queries put forward in the email. At the end of the email, Mr Vella stated that all members of the audience will be informed that no shouting or misbehaving will be tolerated and that whoever does so will be asked to leave the studio.

He also called on Ms Magro to give Xarabank team an answer as to whether Dr Sant would be attending by Monday 26 November.

Yesterday, Ms Magro sent another reply to Mr Vella stating that his answers about the running order, among others, were “unacceptable” as it did not have any form of timing and was unrealistic.

Ms Magro went on to say that, in this context, Dr Sant believes that “there is no basis for a serious and civil political debate” on the state television between the leaders of the two main political parties and refused Xarabank’s invitation to attend Friday’s programme.

In the letter to the PM, Dr Sant said that the running order is “primitive” and whoever is leading the debate will not assume the role of a moderator but of a journalist.

Among the number of complaints put forward, Dr Sant said that the audience will be arranged in a way “that has already taken place in Xarabank programmes where you and I were invited” with sections of the audience arguing against each other.

He went on to say that this is not how a political debate between the two leaders of the main political parties should take place on state television on the eve of an electoral campaign.

During the press conference, Dr Sant said that Xarabank is not the “ideal context for a political debate” because the programme has the format of “a variety show.”

Yesterday afternoon, Xarabank presenter Peppi Azzopardi called another press conference and expressed his puzzlement at Dr Sant’s refusal.

Mr Azzopardi rebutted the Opposition Leader’s remarks and stated that all the country’s leaders participated in Xarabank and that Dr Sant himself had also participated in political debates with Dr Gonzi.

“I can’t understand how Dr Sant is saying that Xarabank is not the place for serious discussions when he participated in several of them himself,” said Mr Azzopardi.

He said that he is proud that Xarabank is the only programme where the audience is allowed to participate and discuss issues with the country’s leaders.

Mr Azzopardi also said that precautions will be taken on Friday’s programme where anyone who will cause any trouble will immediately be sent out of the studio.

“We invited Dr Sant five weeks ago, on Monday 22 October. Four weeks down the line we still did not have an answer even though we sent nine reminders and informed Dr Sant on 29 October that Dr Gonzi had accepted our invitation,” he said.

Mr Azzopardi said that, as requested, the Xarabank team sent him an explanation on the light settings in the studio and the running order of the programme.

“However, we could not give, as requested, the sequence of camera shots because this is a live programme,” he said.

The presenter said that he still could not understand how, after the Xarabank team replied to all his questions, Dr Sant still refused to accept their invitation.

However, he said, the programme will still go ahead with the participation of Dr Gonzi but added that the invitation is still open and said that he offered to meet up with the MLP officials or Dr Sant to discuss the issue.

During the press conference, Dr Sant also called on Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to hold “civil and serious” one-on-one political debates of around 90 minutes on state television organised on a regular basis as a build up to the general election.

Dr Sant said that it was not the first time that he spoke with Dr Gonzi, informally, about the need for political debate and that “this (Xarabank programme) is not the way that we can have a political discussion in a serious and civil way.”

He suggested that the political debates would be between one hour and 90 minutes long and held once every two or three weeks on the state television or radio until the electoral campaign begins.

He went on to suggest that the debates will follow rules set by the Broadcasting Authority or the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) editorial board or according to rules agreed upon by representatives of both political parties.

In his reply, Dr Gonzi said that those who lead a public life should be open to the scrutiny of journalists and the public.

“I am also convinced that journalists, even when one doesn’t agree with them and the way they run their programmes, should have the opportunity to ask us about politics and our public actions,” said Dr Gonzi.