Former Nationalist Party front-liner Carmel Cacopardo said, in an article posted on his blog on Tuesday, that he chose to join Alternattiva Demokratika because he wanted to pass on a message to people who, like him, had lost their trust in the PN under the leadership of Lawrence Gonzi.

The matter was first brought to light by Labour secretary general Jason Micallef during a mass rally at the party headquarters in Hamrun on Tuesday evening.

The secretary general read out Mr Cacopardo’s article, saying the PN leader, who is asking citizens to trust the country in his hands, failed to do anything about serious cases of corruption, even though he knew exactly what was going on.

Mr Cacopardo’s article was written in reaction to Dr Gonzi’s reply to a question regarding Mr Cacopardo’s resignation of membership from the Nationalist Party.

The PN leader had said he respects Mr Cacopardo and listens to whatever he has to say, including his criticism, in the same way that he listens to criticism from those working in favour of the environment. Dr Gonzi added that possibly, the government could have done more in this sector.

However, Mr Cacopardo was evidently dissatisfied with the PN leader’s reply. In his article posted on his blog, http://carmelcacopardo.wordpress.com, he repeated what he considered to be the most important part of his letter of resignation sent to PN secretary general Joe Saliba a couple of weeks ago.

Mr Cacopardo had said he could easily identify with the Nationalist Party when he joined about 30 years ago.

However, he said he had long been asking himself whether the party was nowadays the same party he had joined in the 1970s.

Mr Cacopardo went on to give one of the main reasons for his view of the party, saying the PN-led government had been too lenient with those who had failed to carry out their public duties properly.

“Those who do not tolerate puppets-on-a-string politics are constantly being sidelined,” he said, adding that no real reason was given when he was hindered from carrying out his duties at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s Audit Office.

“I was carrying out audits regarding planning for land use and the environment and people who felt very uncomfortable in my presence made sure that I would not continue to work in that office.”

Mr Cacopardo said he was informed that privately, Dr Gonzi had disapproved of what had happened. This is shown in a document that Dr Gonzi himself had written, said the AD spokesman, adding that he will not publish it out of respect for his source.