Former PN Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said today that the PN risks losing more votes by supporting the gay marriage law, which will start to be debated in Paliament tonight.
Fenech, known for his conservative views, did not contest the last election.
But, it what seems to be an indirect reply, PN MP Claudette Buttigieg said that the Nationalist Party is only keeping its promise.
Writing on Facebook, Fenech said that the Marriage Equality Bill is not about gay marriage, but about changing the concept and value of marriage as we know it.
What the PN is doing is lose-lose for the party, he said.
The Marriage Equality Bill is the first item on Parliament's agenda when it convenes for the first time after the election. The government has the support of the opposition in passing this bill.
This is Fenech's full post:
Simon Busuttil said the PN will continue to stand for our values - whose Values? Many are expecting the PN to vote against the Marriage Equality Bill this Government wants to speedily pass through Parliament. The PN is not bound by an electoral program that did not find electoral support. People did not vote for PN because PN was going to introduce gay marriage - they voted PN because it stood against corruption.
The decision the PN seems to have taken is lose-lose. Despite the electoral result the leadership of the PN fails to realize that forsaking what we value will not lead to success. Actually all the PN is doing is risking losing the votes of people who believed the PN stood for something and today are convinced otherwise. If the PN does not want our vote it keeps heading in this direction.
The Marriage Equality Bill is not about gay marriage. Both Joseph and Simon agreed that the Civil Union Act already brought equality and conferred all rights to gay couples. Society accepted this. It was not a mistake that the PN abstained in that vote, as while we agreed that the choices of gay people should be respected and recognized we disagreed that gay couples were given the right to adopt - a right that is not conferred to married people and a right that is conferred to the children and not to the couples desiring to adopt.
This new law is about changing the concept and value of marriage as we know it. Changing a definition to suit electoral pledges devoid of substance intended only to bring social division where a few dictate to the many just to prove a point. Such acts do not foster tolerance but resentment. Tolerance takes two to tango. Respecting the status and choices everyone makes without imposing on others and altering what God intended for those who believe and the natural order of procreation for those who don't, simply to consolidated some votes, the only thing that seems to drive this Government.
Will anyone stand up and call a spade a spade? I hope that there will be courageous MPs from both sides of the House who will stand up to be counted. Democracy should represent the voice of society and not just the few that have hijacked both political parties.
In a tweet some time later, Buttigieg said that the Nationalist Party will be voting in favour because it had promised gay marriage in its electoral manifesto.