GSD Notes “Stunning Admissions by Picardo”
The GSD has said that the admission by the Chief Minister that he may use the new powers in the Inquiries Bill to restrict information being received by the public or to ensure that hearings are held in private is a “stunning development.”
The party says this will “affect public confidence in this process” and is the mark of a person who is “running scared at the prospect of allowing the public to hear the evidence. What other powers would he use? And when?”
Leader of the Opposition, Keith Azopardi said:
“This all demonstrates that this is not about modernisation but rather about a power-grab so he can use these new powers for politically self-serving purposes in an Inquiry which is hearing allegations about his own conduct. This is nothing short of a scandal. For Mr Picardo to ask people to believe he would be using those powers in the public interest is a step too far for most people.
“What is Mr Picardo afraid of? People will be left with thinking that there is evidence that must be politically cataclysmic for him if he is prepared to pull off stunts like this and pass laws in his own interest days before the McGrail Inquiry will start.
“He is clearly trying to sidestep the Chairman who has already decided a number of those things or whose judgment he does not wish to defer to. With every new revelation and every day that passes Mr Picardo is simply digging a bigger hole for himself in public eyes.”
