Opposition leader Simon Busuttil today gave a 24-hour ultimatum for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to shoulder responsibility in the Konerad Mizzi scandal, but stopped short of saying exactly what action the PN would be taking.
Dr Busuttil said: “I can barely express how disgusted I am. I had said that the Cafe Premier scandal and the Gaffarena scandal were only the tip of the iceberg. I also said there was a Mafia in Castille. And I have been proved right. The government is rotten to the core.”
He was speaking during a radio interview on Radio 101 over the phone as he was taking a short break with his son.
He said that Konrad Mizzi was caught opening a company in Panama, a country blacklisted by the EU, after he became a Cabinet Minister in an EU member state. “Only people with things to hide open companies there. Mizzi gave no justification as to why he opened a company in Panama, a country well known for money laundering activities,” he said.
Dr Busuttil continued: “After all this, I do not believe in his excuses. It is not acceptable for a minister to do this, and he is also deputy leader of the labour Party. We can’t even be assured that a serious investigation will take place by the police, because the government has such a hold on our independent institutions.” He was referring to the fact that Dr Mizzi had asked the tax commissioner to look into the case.
Dr Busuttil said that there were now allegations that the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri has an almost identical company set up, “If it is by the same company and if it was formed at the same time, then the gravity of the situation is enormous,” he said. He said that this would have meant that the two of them were colluding and that the Prime Minister might have been involved.
Dr Busuttil continued: “Everyone in the government is fiddling around. Did the Prime Minister know about this? Or worse still, was he an accomplice in all this? Instead of clearing out the dirt, the Prime Minister is defending the people involved in these scandals. These are dramatic developments. This government has gone beyond any acceptable limit.” he said that the whole affair was unacceptable and that the Prime Minister, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi should resign.
He said that the government was in a crisis of corruption, adding that Joseph Muscat had completely lost his moral compass. “People are right to be disgusted and Malta’s reputation aborad is taking a pummelling thanks to this."
He said that he was going to give the Prime Minister 24 hours to take action. “No more laughing in our faces, no more messing about. This government cannot continue in office. The PN will give a voice to anyone who wants to see a clean sweep in politics once and for all,” he said.
He also expressed solidarity with the media, which is also being attacked by the government, adding: “I appeal to the media to do its job and continue to seek the truth,”. He also pledged that the PN would continue in its mission to get to the truth, despite attacks, insults and intimidation by the government.