Alternattiva Demokratika today called for the dismissal of Minister Konrad Mizzi and OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri. The call was made following the arrest of Yorgen Fenech this morning.
Fenech’s arrest opens the door to many possibilities, AD chairperson Carmelo Cacopardo said.
He said that Fenech’s presence in Malta led one to believe that Fenech was convinced that nothing would have happened. The fact that he is the owner of 17 Black linked him to Mizzi and Schembri.
Seeing all this, Mizzi and Schembri should be the first to go, Cacopardo said. Others should follow.
Moviment Graffitti also reiterated its stance that Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi should immediately resign and disappear from the political scene, something that is long overdue. The arrest of Yorgen Fenech in connection with Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder further makes the position of these two political figures totally untenable, the NGO said in a statement.
The scandal surrounding Yorgen Fenech prior to today’s arrest directly involves the privatisation of energy in Malta and the opening of offshore accounts by Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi. 17 Black, whose owner was revealed to be Yorgen Fenech, was a company cited in the Panama Papers as one transferring funds in these two offshore accounts. Regardless of, and before ascertaining, any eventual criminal responsibility by everyone implicated, it is blatantly obvious that a Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff and a Minister cannot remain in their positions.
Should Mizzi and Schembri yet again decide not to resign, public anger would be entirely justified and everyone should be asking about Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi's stranglehold on Muscat. Why are they so indispensable? Why is the Prime Minister once again ready to face pressure from all quarters, including from pockets of the Labour Party, in order to protect these two individuals whose credit has run out long, long ago?