Repubblika condemns Prime Minister’s refusal to apologise over ethics breach
Repubblika has condemned Prime Minister Robert Abela’s refusal to apologise after the Standards Commissioner found him guilty of being in breach of ethics.
Prime Minister Robert Abela was found to have breached ethics in a Facebook advert, a report by the Standards Commissioner shows. Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi was willing to close the case had he done so, but after the PM’s refusal, he passed on his report to Parliament. The four members of the Standards in Public Life committee – Jonathan Attard and Andy Ellul for the government, and Mark Anthony Sammut and Ryan Callus for the opposition - all agreed that the report should be published.
Abela had argued that his rights to a fair hearing were being breached because he was not given the chance to produce evidence. The commissioner said that the video “continuously focuses on the prime minister as he meets people and gives no detail about the project” except for on-screen words that indicate the location of the visit. The commissioner ruled that the video focused on the PM and did not provide information on the projects.
In a statement on Tuesday, Repubblika said that the Prime Minister used public funds from taxes paid by the people “in an inappropriate way.”
“When Prime Minister Abela refuses to apologise for this failing, he is promoting impunity where one does not shoulder responsibility for their actions. He is also sending a message that one can abuse their position and use public funds in an inappropriate way,” Repubblika said.
The NGO said that government spending on publicity should be regulated by the law. “It should not depend on the Prime Minister's whim whether to apologise or not, whether there would be consequences when ministers spend people’s funds on films or photos with the only aim being personal publicity.”