On Tuesday, the Opposition refused to participate in Prime Minister Robert Abela's April Fool's Day charade, the Nationalist Party said in a statement. Its representatives walked out of a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Appointments, during which a vote was held to approve Carmen Ciantar as Executive Chairperson of the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA), despite the fact that the Prime Minister had already made this appointment behind Parliament's back.

The Pn said it is not prepared to be complicit in or submit to Abela and his Government's undemocratic manoeuvres, which continue to exploit Parliament to bypass the Nationalist Opposition.

During yesterday's meeting, Opposition Members of the Committee were asked to vote on Ciantar's appointment, even though it had been revealed in the previous session that her name already appeared as Executive Chairperson of the MCCAA in the Government's internal staff directory.

Indeed, following objections raised by the PN Members during the previous meeting, the session had to be adjourned after the Committee refused to hear Ciantar's testimony. It was reconvened for yesterday, with the aim of summoning individuals who could shed light on the situation.

Appearing before the Committee yesterday was Engineer Helga Pizzuto, who was replaced by Ciantar without even being informed. Her contract is set to expire in July. The explanations given during the session were far from satisfactory and did not dispel serious concerns over irregularities in this farcical appointment process. As a result, the Opposition Members walked out of the meeting.

Yesterday's episode was yet another attempt by Robert Abela to systematically dismantle democratic safeguards that might, in any way, resist his will, the PN said. 

If the Prime Minister had genuine confidence in his nominee, he should have allowed Committee Members to pass judgement freely. Instead, he treated the Committee and Parliament as a mere rubber stamp for decisions already taken, in a brazen display of contempt for the country's highest institution.

After the Parliamentary Committee on Public Appointments - where the Government holds a majority - proceeded yesterday to approve Ciantar for this role, the Opposition Members on this Committee reaffirmed their commitment to continue following up on this case. They aim to strengthen the procedures and powers of this Committee to ensure that similar cases do not happen again, the PN said.