Adrian Delia stands lonely in Parliament as he urges PM to listen to the people

Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia says the people are not feeling secure in their own country as he accuses the Prime Minister of listening only when it suits his own party. But in Parliament he is surrounded by only a handful of PN MPs

PN leader Adrian Delia
PN leader Adrian Delia

Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia said the Prime Minister should heed the call made by the people who demonstrated in Valletta yesterday and remove the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General.

Delia accused Joseph Muscat of listening only when it was politically convenient for the government and called on him to shoulder political responsibility for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The Opposition leader was speaking in Parliament this morning during the budget debate on the vote for the Office of the Prime Minister. However, Delia's speech was marred by the absence of most of his backbench. The only PN MPs present while the Opposition leader spoke were PN deputy leader contenders Toni Bezzina and David Agius, Kristy Debono, Herman Schiavone and Clyde Puli, who accompanied Delia into Parliament but did not stay for the speech.

This comes on the back of brewing discontent within the parliamentary group between the minority who supported Delia's leadership bid and those who preferred Gozitan MP Chris Said. Delia had to back out of Sunday's demonstration after a number of MPs refused to walk with him.

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In Parliament, Delia insisted people were not feeling secure in their own houses and on the roads. "Take charge of the situation, listen to the people because they want political responsibility to be shouldered. They want to live in a normal country."

Delia described the Caruana Galizia assassination a "political murder" because the government created the conditions for this kind of situation to happen. Quoting the journalist's son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, Delia said that although it was important to catch whoever killed her, “as long as those who led the country remain in place, nothing matters".

Delia said that Malta's respectable image internationally was destroyed as a result of the murder.

"There have been six car bombs, yet none have been solved," Delia said, accusing Muscat of acting as if everything was running smoothly.

"It is not business as usual," Delia added.