Speaker Anglu Farrugia has reacted to Matthew Caruana Galizia’s call for his resignation, saying that the allegations made by the son of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia were “unsubstantiated.”
In a letter sent on Sunday, Caruana Galizia called on Farrugia to resign over his decision to only reprimand Rosianne Cutajar after she was found in breach of ethics over a failed property deal involving Yorgen Fenech.
The former Parliamentary Secretary is under investigation by the tax department over a €46,000 brokerage fee she allegedly took from the would-be seller of a Mdina property. She denies having received the fee. However, she has admitted to taking a €9,000 gift from Yorgen Fenech, who was later charged with masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. At the time of the deal, Fenech had already been uncovered as the owner of 17 Black.
Caruana Galizia accused the Speaker of protecting Cutajar, sending out a message that corruption was permissible in the country’s highest institution.
He called on the Speaker to resign “in the best interests of democracy.”
But in a reply sent by his legal representative, Farrugia dismissed the call. He said the “unsubstantiated allegations” allegations were being rebutted and, in the best interest of democracy, he would not be resigning.
Lawyer Ian Refalo also pointed out that letters of this type should be addressed to the Clerk of the House, not to the Speaker directly. “This may be attributable to a lack of knowledge of parliamentary practice and the laws of Malta on your part,” the lawyer said.