The Nationalist Party has called for Johann Buttigieg's resignation from the Planning Authority.
In a statement, the PN said that anyone leading a public institution such as the Planning Authority must be accessible, while at the same time acting with integrity.
The party said that there is a clear line that must never be crossed. That line, the PN said, is crossed when the relationship between someone entrusted with regulatory power and individuals with a direct interest in decisions taken by that same Authority goes beyond the proper exercise of a public function and begins to involve personal interests, business prospects or relationships that create a conflict between private interests and public duty.
"What has now been exposed in detail about Johann Buttigieg raises precisely this fundamental concern," the party said.
Prime Minister Robert Abela on Wednesday refused to commit to Planning Authority chairman Johann Buttigieg's dismissal over WhatsApp conversations with Yorgen Fenech, insisting the messages had been public for years and did not constitute a new revelation.
The PN said that the issue is not whether the Chairperson of the Authority should speak to a developer or an applicant.
"The issue is the nature of those relationships, what private interests were being discussed, and whether a person exercising executive authority over a national regulator could continue to be regarded as independent and impartial while expressing an interest in entering into business with individuals who had interests before that same Authority," the PN said.
This is also where the direct responsibility of Prime Minister Robert Abela comes in, the party said.
"It was known that these communications existed, and elements of them had already entered the public domain. What we are now seeing, however, is a far clearer and more detailed picture of the depth of the relationship and the potential conflict of interest it may have created," the PN said.
"Despite what was already known, Robert Abela personally chose in 2025 to reappoint Johann Buttigieg at the helm of the Planning Authority," the party added.
"Today, rather than recognising the seriousness of what has been revealed and defending the integrity of the institution, Robert Abela is choosing to defend Johann Buttigieg," the PN said,
The party said that the Prime Minister cannot avoid the substance of the issue simply by saying that the existence of these chats was already known.
The question is not when we became aware that the chats existed. The question is what those chats reveal about the conduct of the man who led - and whom Robert Abela once again chose to lead - the Planning Authority, the party said.
"The independence of a regulator must not only exist. It must also be seen to exist," the PN said.
Anyone who holds power over thousands of decisions affecting people's property, the environment, development and millions of euros in commercial interests must be above any reasonable doubt of a conflict between the public interest and private interests, the PN said.
"In these circumstances, there is only one responsible course of action. Johann Buttigieg must resign immediately as Executive Chairperson of the Planning Authority. And if Johann Buttigieg does not do so voluntarily, Robert Abela must remove him," the party said.
It said that for every day that Robert Abela continues to defend him, the Prime Minister assumes responsibility not only for the decision to reappoint him, but also the political responsibility for keeping him at the helm of the Authority after everything that has now come to light.
The PN said that it will continue to insist on a Planning Authority that is accessible to everyone, while at the same time remaining independent, impartial and free from any conflict between public power and private interests.
"This is the minimum standard our country should expect from anyone entrusted with leading one of Malta's most powerful authorities."