Opposition leader Simon Busuttil dedicated most of his fiery 30 minute speech to the Gaffarena scandal today, while also urging Nationalists to return to the party fold.

In an uncharacteristically loud speech, Dr Busuttil said that it is becoming increasingly clear that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s loyalty is only to himself. “Under this government, you can only make headway if you are close to Muscat. He has lost all sense of direction. He never even mentions the worker any more, even though his party is supposed to be the one where workers feel they belong,” he said.

He said that the National Audit Office report clearly showed that Dr Muscat’s loyalty is not to the people, or to the country, but to himself and those that are close to him. “This report is clear evidence that this government is in a crisis of corruption,” he said.

Raising his voice a few decibels higher, Dr Muscat said that this is the most corrupt government in Malta’s history. “You might be able to fool people once. You might even get away with it the second time, but if you try a third time, the Maltese people will shun you. This scandal is the beginning of the end of Joseph Muscat,” he said.

Quoting the NAO report, Dr Busuttil said that collusion is not a word that is often used in Malta. “Collusion means that there was an agreement made for someone to get something that they are not entitled to. In Malta, we use the word corruption. The government does not like it one bit when we mention the word, but Muscat’s government is corrupt, and the most corrupt one we have ever had,” he said.

Dr Busuttil said the Gaffarena scandal was not a one off case. “Do you remember the Prime Minister telling us that he was running like a hare and made mistakes out of over eagerness? Well, just look at how puts things right... he does it like a tortoise.

Dr Busuttil said there were so many scandals that the PN cannot keep up with them. “No sane government would accept all these scandals on its watch. There are deep and dangerous ties between corrupt people and the authorities. I take that o another level and said that there are mafia style ties between Gaffarena and the police, Gaffarena and Castille and Gaffarena at the Lands Department. This is completely unacceptable,” he said.

Dr Busuttil also asked how Marco Gaffarena was still hanging around the Lands Department when the report was about to be published.

“I know why, it’s because he is King of the Lands Department and he is King of Castille. He has even been given the new super fuel. They chose petrol stations for the pilot project, and of course, who is on the list? Gaffarena.”

He questioned how the Prime Minister could not have gotten a whiff of the deal. “The PM is the minister in charge of lands, and yet he didn’t know that a €3.5 million property and cash deal was going through? I find that hard to believe,” he said.

Dr Busuttil said the Prime Minister should have known about the deal and should shoulder political responsibility for it. “Did Gaffarena not corrupt anyone else? Did he buy people off? Those are the questions that the PN will ask, and continue to ask until we get answers. There are too many unanswered questions,” he said.

Dr Busuttil also referred to an article published in our sister paper The Malta Independent on Sunday entitled: The mask has slipped, Owen. He said that the article dealt with the issue of how Justice Minister Owen Bonnici is defending the government.

“I throw the gauntlet down to Joseph Muscat. If you cannot deal with the burden and the responsibility of leading a clean government, then get out. Make way for someone who can,” he said.

He also touched upon the issue of the Prime Minister suing the government over the Gaffarena deal. “This is absurd. It’s ridiculous. You are the government. You sued yourself. You sued the Lands Department and you are the one in charge of it. Do you really think that people are that stupid?”

He asked why the police did not investigate the OPM and Castille, not just the Lands Department. “I’ll tell you why. It’s because Ray Zammit’s sons were investigating the case. These are the very same people who were supposed to investigate, yet were in businesses with Gaffarena all along,” he said.

He also referred to former Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon’s performance on Xarabank on Friday night. “All he did was attack the Auditor General, someone agreed on by both sides of the House... and now all they can do is criticise and attack him. When the PM was asked what he thought, he replied that Falzon was just defending himself. Look at the state this government is in,” he said.

Dr Busuttil continued: “And it begs the question. How come the Prime Minister removed Falzon but not Ian Borg?”

He said that all of Malta and Gozo is paying for the rampant corruption which is rife in the government. He appealed for all genuine Labour supporters to open their eyes and see the obvious. He assure them that there is a home for them in the Nationalist Party and said that many estranged supporters were returning the fold. He urged more to join the ranks of the party to prepare to form a new and clean government in waiting.