The Nationalist Party said it will take part in a demonstration against corruption which is being organised by civil society group Repubblika and Occupy Justice. The decision was taken this afternoon by the party’s administrative committee.

The protest is to be held on 16 November, the day of the month on which vigils have been held every month for more than two years since the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galiza on 16 October 2017. It is the first time that the PN will be taking part in the activity, although several of its exponents have attended in their personal capacity.

In its statement, the PN invited the people to attend the demonstration, which comes at the end of a week which started with the OPM chief of staff refusing to answer questions in court in a libel suit he instituted against the former Opposition Leader, Simon Busuttil. Schembri ended up withdrawing the case so as not to be cross-examined by Busuttil’s lawyers.

PN leader Adrian Delia immediately condemned Schembri’s behaviour and demanded his resignation or removal. In Parliament on the same day, the PN leader asked the Prime Minister to make a ministerial statement, but the PM refused. When he stood up to speak in Parliament, supposedly on the Equality bill, Delia used his time to say it was not acceptable that Joseph Muscat retained Schembri as OPM chief of staff. If Schembri did not resign, then Muscat should remove him, Delia said.

During his adjournment speech on Tuesday, Busuttil sustained Delia’s call for Schembri’s removal. The PN, in its statement today, said the PM has no other option but to dismiss Schembri, and condemned Muscat’s persistence in his defence of corruption.

The PN this afternoon presented a motion for Parliament to request the PM to remove Schembri.