Robert Abela choosing Rosianne Cutajar over the public interest - PN

The Nationalist Party is asking Prime Minister Robert Abela to ask Rosianne Cutajar to resign following revelations of her close relationship to Yorgen Fenech.

In a party statement, the PN said that Abela is choosing Cutajar over the public interest by taking no action against her, despite several reports of the parliamentary secretary accepting cash and asking favours from Fenech, who stands accused of masterminding the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination.

"As he continues to take no action against Rosianne Cutajar, Robert Abela shows that he is not ready to send a strong message to national and international institutions that the Government has learned its lesson," the statement reads.

The party remarked that Malta has been subject to an "important and difficult test", alluding to the Moneyval and Venice Commission reports which cast a dark shadow on Malta's international reputation, because the Labour Party chose to "protect those plagued by allegations against them".

"Now that Robert Abela has a chance to show that he is different from his predecessor Joseph Muscat, he is once again choosing to follow in his footsteps."

"Robert Abela’s main duty is to our country and he should therefore at least ask Rosianne Cutajar to resign until the conclusion of the investigation by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life. This is the least expects from [him]."