This is the second part of the interview with Opposition leader Adrian Delia. The first part can be found in this link. A third part will be uploaded later. The full interview was published in The Malta Independent on Sunday.

PN Leader Adrian Delia was asked what his next move will be, given that the government does not seem to be moving towards the removal of the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General. In response, Delia said that the more hard-headed government is "the more clear it becomes that they want to keep the seat of power in a totalitarian way."

"It is a delicate moment for the country. In this particular moment, the country must come first, we cannot keep thinking about what is best for the party in government or in opposition. We have lost the luxury of talking about parties at this stage, and we need to talk about what is good for the country. It is important for the good of the country that the message is sent that the government recognises the problem, and if the government remains hard-headed over these two positions, then it means the government is not recognising the problem.”

He said everyone is saying it is clear that the Police Commissioner must leave, that he is not providing assurance to citizens that he can protect them. “He did not protect Daphne Caruana Galizia nor the country from this criminality. The assurance that he can protect the people is not there. If the government remains hard-headed, the Opposition will not only speak, shout and write, but it will take a more drastic positions – one after the other – both inside Parliament and outside, if needed.”

Asked to provide some concrete examples of these drastic measures, Delia said: “In the coming days, we will begin revealing what we decide in the Parliamentary Group, even as from Monday if needed.”

 

The new way seems like the old?

Delia did not agree with the statement that his new way seems very much like the old way. “Firstly, between what I said in the summer and what is going on today, an overwhelming incident has occurred: something that changes the way you think, reason and look at politics. In the summer, I looked at politics with optimism as to how I would do things, how I was going to plan on subjects such as transport, education, etc., and I spoke about these. I said we also needed to talk about justice and corruption. I said we are not living in a normal country.

“But then something happened that nobody expected could happen in this country. We were arguing, complaining that the government was taking us backwards, but nobody thought we would fall to this low. Everyone was shocked: that makes you think about everything.

“We have the General Council on Sunday, and we chose three themes: Justice – not only for the victim and the family but for us as well, as we have a right to know that the perpetrator will face the consequences. Security – as we want to live in a secure country, and thirdly – if we have those two, liberty. We fought to live in a free country. Then you begin looking forward.”

Delia said that even the way the PN is making criticisms in Parliament and addressing the situation is being done with sensitivity, because the world is watching Malta.

It is not easy, he said, to hear foreigners describe Malta as ‘a Mafia state’ and he does not believe the Maltese are like that. He said that the government needs to accept responsibility for bringing us to this point.

Delia mentioned the Italian anti-mafia commission “who are saying Malta is the place where the Mafia feels comfortable laundering money.

“That hurts and maybe we just couldn’t see it but, at the same time, you must protect your country’s name. I must say that my friends – the professionals I know, the people I see every day – are not like that. We are better than that. We are not going to let our country keep slipping down this slope.”