[WATCH] PN leader urges President Coleiro Preca to ask for Prime Minister’s resignation

Standing before thousands of supporters gathered in Valletta, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil called for the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Amid chants of “Simon! Simon!” and “Out!”, the PN leader called on the President of the Republic, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, to ask for Muscat’s resignation.

“I know that the President does not have the legal power to remove the Prime Minister but she has the moral authority to ask him to resign,” Busuttil urged.

In a compelling speech, the PN leader urged the Labour MPs to distance themselves from their leader: “You have the power to remove him.”

He appealed to the media to continue seeking information until the truth outs whilst he urged social partners to show their support to a country against corruption. He called on the country’s institutions, including the Police, the Malta Security Services, the MFSA and the FIAU “to do what’s needed in the national interest during such a crucial moment”.

Busuttil once again pledged protection to whistleblowers who hold any information.

“All I’m asking of you is to unite behind Malta’s flag,” he told the nation.

Busuttil pledged that if the country were to trust him to lead Malta, he would immediately appointed an independent inquiry that would investigate corruption, the Panama Papers revelations and hold those responsible to justice.

The PN leader said today, Malta saw the birth of a new political force that would give the country what it deserves.

Speaking of a nation that was “in a state of political emergency”, Busuttil said that Malta needed its citizens.

“Malta is under the world’s spotlight and in no country do you find a Prime Minister who retains his role despite being under investigation. Malta is in a state of political emergency. Never has Malta experienced such corruption. The damage to our country is incalculable.”

The country, he said, was angry and worried for its future.

“The Prime Minister wants us to bring evidence but the proof is in how he has acted all these months.”

Busuttil said that only few days after the Labour government was elected to power, three offshore companies were incorporated by Brian Tonna, Nexia BT’s managing partner.

Photos: James Bianchi/MediaToday

The second fact, he said, was the removal of then Police Commissioner John Rizzo, whom he said was known for how seriously he conducted his work.

Busuttil said that the third fact was the Azerbaijan trip in 2014.

“Another fact is the revelation by journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia of the companies held by Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, facts which were confirmed by the Panama Papers leaks,” he said.

Another fact, Busuttil added, was Muscat’s decision to retain and defend the two men.

“We then learn that the third offshore company would belong to a person so important that they would only pass their name via Skype. Another fact is the sale of the power station for €320 million and the development of a power station which the country doesn’t need but they still tied us down for 18 years,” he said.

Busuttil said that once it emerged that Egrant “belonged to Michelle Muscat”, Muscat denied it and failed to order an independent inquiry. Once again, it was reminded to the public that instead of ordering an investigation immediately, “evidence was allowed to be taken out of Pilatus Bank while the Police Commissioner continued eating rabbit”.

“Faced by this betrayal, Malta is asking: who betrayed me? Who is Judas? And the public is pointing their fingers to just one person: Joseph Muscat,” he said to the public’s booing.

“The Prime Minister this morning swore in God’s name that he was telling the truth; but I tell him don’t do that: you’ve already used your family for sympathy and now you want to use God too because you’re drowning?”