Matthew Caruana Galizia needs to get his facts right: Professor Ian Refalo was appointed advisor to Parliament by Lawrence Gonzi

Matthew Caruana Galizia does not know his facts. Clearly, he is being fed nonsense about our Parliamentary procedure. I am stating this in reaction to a post written by Matthew Caruana Galizia wherein he attacked Professor Ian Refalo’s letter which was written on behalf of the Speaker. In his post, Matthew Caruana Galizia states

I find it extraordinary that the Speaker has such little confidence in his abilities or those of his staff that he has used public money to hire a lawyer in private practice to respond to a letter from a private citizen.

What Matthew Caruana Galizia does not know is that Professor Ian Refalo is the official lawyer appointed by Parliament. What is even more interesting is the fact that Professor Ian Refalo was not appointed by the current Speaker Angelo Farrugia but his appointment, as an advisor on legal matters to Parliament, goes back to the dates when Lawrence Gonzi was Prime Minister of Malta and Michael Frendo was Speaker of the House!

What is even bizarre in Matthew Caruana Galizia’s reply is that it was Lawrence Gonzi who úsed public money to hire a lawyer in private practice to advise parliament. It is very strange that neither Matthew nor his mother criticized such a choice by Lawrence Gonzi’s Government at the time! This speaks volumes because the same Lawrence Gonzi stuck his neck out to defend Matthew Caruana Galizia, apparently forgetting that during the time he was Prime Minister, Professor Ian Refalo was appointed the legal consultant to the house!