Malta is not defined by the actions of the unscrupulous who are closest to the heart of power, PN Leader Adrian Delia said on Wednesday evening, when speaking at the European People’s Party summit in Zagreb, Croatia.

Delia said he had planned to speak on issues such as climate change, migration and jobs, but “what we witnessed in the last 48 hours means that I can only talk about the need to reaffirm the European values of our country.”

“Two years ago, journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated outside her home. This morning, a man implicated in one of the most serious corruption scandals my country has ever seen, was caught trying to flee. His associates have been well-protected in government for the past three years. People are out in the streets of Malta whilst I speak - they are demanding truth and justice. They are demanding accountability.”

The PN Leader said the legal process is distinct from political responsibility. “We cannot have a government in our Europe that uses its electoral majority to run roughshod over the norms, standards and guarantees that were promised to us when we joined the European Union.”

People are out on the streets because they are demanding something better, because they want to live in a country where European standards and norms are respected, he said. “A country where the rule of law applies. Malta can be that country again.”

“When my children tell someone that they are from Malta I want people to think of our strength of character. I want people to believe again that while we are small, we are great. That European values matter even to the smallest Member State.”

The Maltese are not corrupt, Delia said. “That is not us. We are better than that.”