The Nationalist Party has renewed its demand for the full implementation of the recommendations of the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry, accusing the government of refusing to act despite having pledged to carry out the reforms identified by the inquiry five years ago.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, PN MPs Michael Piccinino and Mark Anthony Sammut said the State had a responsibility to implement the reforms needed to ensure that the circumstances which led to Caruana Galizia's assassination in 2017 are not repeated.

The recommendations of the inquiry had identified a culture of impunity and institutional failures which contributed to the environment in which Caruana Galizia was killed.

Piccinino said Caruana Galizia's family had pursued the public inquiry precisely to establish what needed to change within the State following her murder.

He recalled that several government figures had initially criticised calls for a public inquiry, including Robert Abela (then still an MP), who had warned that it could "jeopardise" the criminal investigation.

The inquiry was eventually concluded in July 2021. Piccinino said Abela had subsequently committed himself to implementing its recommendations.

However, by 2022, the government had still not acted, prompting the PN to table a series of bills aimed at putting the recommendations into practice. Labour MPs had voted against those proposals.

Piccinino said the government had dismissed the PN's legislative initiatives as a gimmick, arguing that it would ultimately be the government itself that would implement the necessary reforms. "But now five years have passed," he said.

On Friday, Opposition Leader Alex Borg tried to have a motion passed in Parliament which would have given the government until the end of October to implement the recommendations. The government refused to debate the motion.

Sammut accused Abela of trying to portray the assassination as entirely the responsibility of the previous administration while simultaneously presenting himself as a champion of respect for Caruana Galizia.

He said the Prime Minister's actions did not match his rhetoric, particularly when Labour MPs voted against measures intended to strengthen State institutions and make them more independent.

Sammut also criticised recent comments by Labour figures concerning Caruana Galizia and her family.

He referred to Jason Micallef, a Labour Party delegate and chairman of the Valletta Cultural Agency, who described banners calling for justice for Caruana Galizia as "vandalism". Sammut said such comments were unacceptable from a person holding public office and accused Abela of failing to distance himself from them.

He also criticised what he described as continued protection of people close to the government, including Neville Gafà, whose posts on the social media attacked Caruana Galizia's family.

Sammut argued that the inquiry's recommendations remained relevant precisely because they sought to prevent institutions from being influenced by political considerations and to strengthen accountability.

The PN speakers also reiterated several proposals linked to the inquiry's findings, including State financing of political parties, unexplained wealth legislation, and laws aimed at preventing abuse of power.

Sammut also called for Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg to resign, arguing that serious mistakes had been made by her office. He also criticised her absence from Malta when the verdict in the Yorgen Fenech jury trial was delivered, describing this as irresponsible given the significance of the case.

Piccinino said the government could not claim to have learned the lessons of Caruana Galizia's assassination while refusing to implement the reforms recommended by the public inquiry.

The PN, he said, remained committed to ensuring those recommendations were finally put into effect.