The Nationalist Party expects the Prime Minister to publish his declaration of assets and that of his ministers and parliamentary secretaries before the Finance Minister presents the budget for 2023.

In a statement signed by Karol Aquilina, the PN said Robert Abela has been hiding these 2021 declarations for seven months. All new Cabinet members had two months in which to present their declaration, and it is as yet unknown whether all of them did their duty.

Abela does not want journalists and citizens to see what he and his Cabinet members earned in 2021. By doing so, he is depriving journalists and citizens the chance to uncover unexplained wealth and fight against corruption, nepotism, conflicts of interest and undeserved advantages.

The PN said that the Council of Europe group against corruption (GRECO) had recommended that the government should make sure that these declarations are publicly accessible.

Like Joseph Muscat, Abela is continuing the road of bad governance and is persisting in the culture of impunity, the PN said.