PN will only be satisfied if Mallia shoulders responsibility – Busuttil

Describing the Labour government as “morally corrupt,” the PN leader Simon Busuttil tonight highlighted numerous shortcomings and conflicts of interest within government’s ranks.

The Sheehan shooting, Busuttil said was symptomatic of the laissez faire attitude under Labour and insisted that the “contrary to government the PN believes in politics of honesty and truth.”

“This is symptomatic of a culture in which people simply do what they want simply for being part of Labour,” he said blaming Muscat for introducing and fomenting this culture.

He insisted that home affairs Manuel Mallia should shoulder political responsibility alone because he oversees the police force and he should guarantee law and order in the country.

Earlier today, Mallia reassured that at no moment did he cover up or asked somebody to cover up for somebody else. “If anyone is found guilty of this in my ministry I will ask for their immediate resignation,” the minister said.

Asked whether the PN would be satisfied if blame is apportioned to somebody within the home affairs ministry, including chief of staff Silvio Scerri, Busuttil said “We’ll not be happy if somebody else takes the blame. It’s a question of political responsibility and that’s why we have called on the prime minister to sack Mallia.”

He added that the problem is not whether security guards should carry a weapon “but in this case excessive force was used by a minister’s driver.”

In reaction to the appointment of the retired judge Alberto Magri head an inquiry in the shooting incident, Busuttil said Muscat was shying away from shouldering political responsibility.

“We’re not expecting anything from this inquiry because it’s not its job to identify who should shoulder political responsibility. That is the prime minister’s job.”

Synthesising his two-hour speech in Parliament, Busuttil highlighted the warning signs in the country’s economic performance, the unequal distribution of wealth and the latest political developments, which the PN leader said was a cause for concern.

“This government promised to make Malta the best in Europe we are officially the worse in Europe when it comes to exports,” he said, adding that the economy was lacking in confidence.

Busuttil reiterated the opposition’s criticism on the growing national debt, the increase of workers I the public sector, the negative financial results at Air Malta and the traffic congestion problems.