PN leader says public inquiry into Caruana Galizia assassination should be ‘impartial and independent’

Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia has said that foreign minister's Carmelo Abela’s promise of a public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia stems from pressure against him rather than out of good will. 

Speaking during a phone interview on the party’s radio station, NET FM, Delia said that the opposition will keep on insisting on a fully independent and impartial inquiry. 

“The board of inquiry must be elected by the parliament not the Prime Minister, and should have a mandate that determines if the assassination could have been prevented,” Delia said. 

The Opposition had forwarded a motion in parliament to establish whether the murder could have been prevented. 

“Obviously, the process should be done in a way that it gives the deserved justice to Daphne Caruana Galiza, her family and the Maltese people,” Delia said. 

“The government chose to pursue a public inquiry after the pressure made by the damning Council of Europe report, which was approved a few days ago,” Delia continued.

The unborn child

The Opposition leader also talked about the Minor Protection Act.

“While the opposition had voted in favour of the act, the government has insisted on not including the protection of babies in the womb,” Delia said. 

Delia said that he believed there is a split within the government itself on the issue, and will be asking Muscat to clarify his position on the subject. 

“Do we want to protect life? Do we want to protect the baby in the womb? I will be inviting Muscat to explain, and clarify why his government continues to vote against,” he stated. 

Delia insisted on continuing to pursue politics which protects the unborn child. 

Rent reform

On the proposed rent reform, Delia said that while him and the opposition voted in favour, the law will do nothing to fix the situation the government itself created. 

“The law has good aspects to it, but it will not solve the crisis. We have voted in favour because we believe that doing something is better than nothing, but we will continue to present our amendments in parliament,” he said. 

Delia insisted that while the law is a step-forward in trying to solve the rent crisis, the government must be wary of not piling more pressure on the private sector.