Nationalist Party (PN) leader Adrian Delia said he is “saddened” by remarks made by former PN local councillor Charlor Cassor who wrote on social media that the main problem is that Malta has lost the Nationalist Party. His comments were made days after he resigned from the PN.
Asked for a reaction about the comment, in view of the PN’s failure to speak out after the resignation was made public, Delia said:
“I am saddened when anybody feels the country has lost the PN because every single opinion is important and one needs to explore why that person thinks that way. My understanding, since I have spoken to Charlot Cassar before and have not yet had the occasion to meet with him afterwards, is that he spoke in that way with respect to the environment sector which is very close to his heart.”
In a post on Facebook on Saturday morning, Charlot Cassar said he is in politics to be of service and work for the common good. "That's what I always did and will continue to do with a sense of obligation, duty and love for the country. I thank all those who have supported me. The main problem is not that the PN lost me but that the country lost the PN," he wrote.
He resigned last Friday, claiming he feels that he is no longer part of the PN.
Cassar, who had been prominent in the fight for Zonqor land to remain in pristine condition at the time the American University of Malta was being given land to develop as a campus, said that his primary obligation is to be guided by what is good and right for the people he serves.
“To achieve this aim, I must be primarily loyal to my values of honest, loyalty, transparency and accountability,” he said.
Cassar has actively objected to the development of the American University of Malta campus in Zonqor. He and two other Marsascala councillors had moved a motion urging the government to give the land back to the public. The PL-led council had defeated the motion. Cassar had also urged government MPs to file a similar motion in Parliament, adding that such a motion could be seconded by an Opposition MP. A debate was held earlier this month, but the request was made by PN MPs.
In addition, Cassar was also instrumental in applying pressure to see that the dilapidated and abandoned Jerma Hotel in Marsascala. The once thriving establishment has now been left to ruins, and multiple proposals have been made to the Planning Authority and presented to the Marsascala local council.
Cassar objected to the dilapidated site to be turned into another hotel or residential block, and called for the government to buy back the property and it be turned into an open space.
On environmental issues, Delia remarked that:
“It is a sector which proposes a lot of challenges. The PN is very much in favour and I have made strong statements that the environment needs to be protected and needs to be at the centre at any policies looking at the future development of Malta. We also need to find solutions of sustainable development to Malta. We need to plan for the future.”
He said that there are those who feel that Malta is not doing enough for the environment while others fall on the other side of the balance.