‘Attend Sunday’s protest or give tacit approval to corruption – Busuttil

Opposition leader urges public to 'stand up and be counted' and attend Sunday's anti-corruption protest, insists it will be a 'national protest, about the public versus dirty politicians' 

People who don’t attend an anti-corruption protest organised by the Nationalist Party on Sunday will be giving their tacit approval to corruption within the government, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil claimed.

“The government has now exceeded all limits, and the time has come for the people to show their anger and disgust at what is going on, and to stand up and be counted,” Busuttil said during an interview on party station Radio 101. “The people who don’t join the protest will be sending a message to Muscat that he can continue doing whatever he likes.

“Somebody must tell Muscat that what he’s doing is unacceptable, and that's exactly what the public will do on Sunday." 

The protest, which will be held at Castille Square, will be a response to a scandal involving Muscat’s chief of staff Keith Schembri and energy and health minister Konrad Mizzi. Both of them have admitted to having a company registered in Panama – a tax haven – and a trust fund in New Zealand.

Amid claims by the Labour Party that Sunday's gathering will be a PN mass meeting, Busuttil insisted that it will sctually be a “national protest”.

“This is not about the Nationalist Party versus the Labour Party, but about the public versus dirty politicians.”

The PN leader also dismissed Muscat’s claim that he first found out about Schembri’s Panamanian registered company from the media.

“I don’t believe it and neither does the public,” Busuttil said. “The Prime Minister’s right hand man and left hand man were caught owning secret companies in Panama. Since Muscat insists on defending them, it means that he must shoulder political responsibility too.”