PN Leader Adrian Delia has said that Malta is not a country for Joseph Muscat, or the Labour Party or for the Nationalist Party, but it is a country for the people, it is the citizens who make Malta what is.

Delia delivered his speech during the PN's General Council on Friday, where he expressed that during such difficult and unstable times, Maltese and Gozitans must come together for Malta and to ensure that the country's needs are first before those in government or power.

"We are living in ugly and abnormal times, right now we have institutions that should be doing their job for the country, but instead are in favour of the government. We find ourselves in a situation worse than 1987. The government told us that these are the best of times, but instead we are in the worst of times. Our reputation is shattered into pieces, and our own Deputy Prime Minister says that our reputation is almost irreparable."

Delia said that there are two paths the country can take; either to continue damaging Malta's reputation, or to start picking up the pieces and fixing the country. "We must take these steps together, as a nation. We must ensure that justice prevails and that there is no more corruption in our institutions," he said. He emphasised how the country has found itself in a situation where not one or two individuals, but the whole government is involved in corruption and allows criminals to walk freely in Castille.

"Justice must take place, as a party we will continue insisting that justice takes place and that everyone upholds their political responsibility. Everyone who has been involved in this must uphold their political responsibility. All those who turned a blind eye to the reality, must be questioned, all those people who turned their back on the truth...they too must uphold political responsibility and be questioned."

Delia said that all the contracts which former minister Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri have signed should be suspected and investigated. He said that both Mizzi and Schembri must be investigated by the FIAU and the Attorney General. "We need to see the implications of these contracts, the contracts of Electrogas and Vitals. Through the Vitals Global Healthcare contract, we sold our hospitals to people we do not even know. They need to give us back what is ours, what belongs to the country."

He said that the Nationalists and Maltese people continue to ask the same question over and over again; "what future do we want for our country?" Delia said that it does not make a difference if there will be a new Prime Minister if nothing changes. "It does not make a difference if there is only a reshuffle of the names in government, if there is no change brought about. We have a Prime Minister and government which have all the power, we are declaring that the Prime Minister should have less power, and instead of being power hungry, the prime minister should ensure that his decisions are good and ensure the checks and balances of our country."

He said that it is not the Labour Party that wants to change the situation, and that change needs to happen now. "Change needs to happen now, today, we cannot wait any more, we must be more courageous. Now is the moment, the hour, we must stand for justice and for our country. We must stand for democracy, the rule of law and ensure our country is above politics and corruption."

Delia said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. "That is the definition of tyranny, the complete abuse of power. We want and need a radical change of how our political system works and we need the separation of powers."

Delia said that it is Malta that has been betrayed. "At the beginning, when Malta was still a 'nobody' in the Mediterranean, we had people cheering us on to work hard, back when we had little to no resources. People looked at us because we had national pride, our reputation was that the Maltese loved their country, were generous, kind, hard-working and full of gratitude. We still are all these things. I will never say Malta or the people are corrupt, it is our government that is corrupt."

 

Clear that country’s institutions are not robust enough - Clyde Puli

After all that has emerged over the last few weeks, it is clear that the country's institutions are not robust enough and need to be radically strengthened, PN Secretary General Clyde Puli said as he presented a good governance document to the party's extraordinary general council on Friday.

Puli said that the current crisis can trace its roots to the seat of power in Castille, and is a culmination of a six-and-a-half-year roadmap of corruption.

He spoke of recent revelations in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case where various members of the Prime Minister's staff have been named.  He noted that Muscat still defends them and was defending Keith Schembri - his former chief of staff - up until the night before he resigned and was arrested.

"From all this, it emerged that the institutions of our country are not robust enough. There is the need for radical changes to make sure that the country does not go through what it is going through now again. We are presenting solutions to this even though we are in Opposition, as that is what the country expects of us", he said.

Speaking about the proposed solutions, Puli described them as radical.  He said that the power of the Prime Minister must be reduced, and that better tools must be provided so that institutions can keep a more watchful eye over those in administration. He said that a process to clean-up and strengthen the reputation of the country is also needed.

He listed various proposals, which include having a President who can represent everyone, authorities which are truly independent, an Attorney General "with a backbone", independent disciplinary forces, a means of party financing from the state, impartial state broadcasting, and transparency in government contracts.

"With this document we want to launch a national discussion so that we can understand what is needed from us."

He called for an immediate stop to the IIP passport selling programme and for positions of trust to be given only where they are really needed, and not to stay handing them out so to set up "an army of mercenaries who will defend what isn't right".

 

Other proposals presented include a fund for independent media, MPs working full-time, a reform to the electoral system, and that every candidate should fill out a declaration of assets so as to know what assets one had when entering parliament and what they had when exiting it.

He said that there was still the need to reform the PN: "we need an important and big reform that will give renewed relevance to this party and see it united behind a common goal: the common good".

Photos by Michael Camilleri