Delia: ‘If Muscat doesn’t resign now, it’ll be far too late for Malta’

If Prime Minister Joseph Muscat does not resign now, it will be far too late for Malta to redeem itself and repair the damage suffered over the past month, Opposition leader Adrian Delia said.

“Newsrooms all over the world are writing that Malta is the island of corruption. There are serious consequences being felt right now. If we are not going to act and if the Prime Minister refuses to resign, it will be far too late,” Delia said on Net FM.

“Many people have called me from their negotiation tables saying that they have lost their business. Others are choosing not to invest in our country because businesses do not want to be associated with this government. These people couldn’t possibly have a political agenda because they are foreign,” Delia said.

The Nationalist Party leader said that protests calling for Muscat’s resignation over the past few days had built up powerful momentum, where even students had blocked traffic on Regional Road to accuse the government of being associated with criminality.

“At this point, it’s we, the people, who have to protect our constitution because it has been breached by this government. Our institutions have been taken over by the government by force, where even journalists have been locked in Castille by people with no authority to do so,” Delia said, adding that Malta could no longer be called a normal country.

He referred to comments made by deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne in the past few days when he said that Malta’s reputation had been damaged to the point where it was almost irredeemable.

Not acting now, Delia said, would prove disastrous for Malta. “I’m not someone who jumps the gun and comes to conclusions without concrete evidence. But it’s a fact that Joseph Muscat is damaging our country and causing the most instability by staying on as Prime Minister. It’s a fact that Finance Minister Edward Scicluna is subject to a magisterial inquiry. It’s a fact that Fearne admitted that our country is being damage.

“It’s a fact that Muscat’s former right-hand man was embroiled in criminal activities of the highest level. It’s a fact that people are out on the street protesting. It’s a fact that many people around the Prime Minister – Evarist Bartolo, José Herrera, Miriam Dalli among others – are recognising the damage that’s being done to our country with Muscat’s presence in government.”

Delia insisted, however, that if Cabinet ministers failed to act at this opportune moment, they too would be an accomplice to Malta’s demise on the international stage. He said that ministers took an oath to do what was best for their country.

“If the Prime Minister is damaging the country beyond repair and has lost all sense of legitimacy, and if you claim that you have faith in him, then you are an accomplice. They have an opportunity to do what’s right and just and I have hope that they will stand up for our country,” Delia said.