(Adds PL statement)
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said today he will not hesitate to take further decisions in connection with a party MP should these become necessary.
He was speaking in connection with the case involving former minister Joe Cassar who resigned as PN culture spokesman yesterday following the publication of a report in MaltaToday which claimed that businessman Joe Gaffarena had paid for construction works at his family home.
Dr Cassar was allegedly also given a car by Mr Gaffarena for his daughter while he was health minister.
Dr Busuttil said he spoke to Dr Cassar yesterday and told him that his position was no longer tenable, which led to his resignation as spokesman.
But Dr Busuttil said this afternoon that in the case of Dr Cassar there was no element of illegality of misappropriation of public funds but it was a case of a personal relationship and an error of judgement by the former minister.
He compared Dr Cassar’s case with that of Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon who had signed the Mark Gaffarena deal for half ownership of a property in Old Mint Street, Valletta. Mark Gaffarena (Joe's son) had bought the property for a fraction of the price just weeks earlier.
The Nationalist Party, he said, was not calling for the dismissal of Dr Falzon from the Labour Party or from Parliament but as Parliamentary Secretary.
This had also been the case in the former Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia scandal.
Dr Busuttil said that if he were Prime Minister and Dr Cassar was a minister he would have resigned from his position as minister.
He said that two years ago, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat promised a culture of resignations but instead the country was sinking in filth.
The Labour Party even sent Dr Cardona to address a press conference on clean politics earlier today, when the Economy Minister was allegedly living in a Portomaso flat owned by a businessman for free. Dr Cardona has denied the allegations.
Dr Busuttil said that high standards were also expected from the Prime Minister.
In the Old Mint Street property case, he said, the exaggerated compensation given for a property the government did not require thanks to a deal signed by Parliamentary Secretary Falzon did not only reflect corruption but also misappropriation of public funds.
Mr Gaffarena was also allowed by this government to operate an illegal petrol station while the former acting police commissioner’s son was also involved in a business deal with Mr Gaffarena.
The Land Department, Dr Busuttil said, was involved in more scandals including that of the Australia Hall, the Café Premier, the Siggiewi PL club and the property the GWU leased to ARMS Ltd.
These scandals should dictate the dismissal of Dr Falzon without further delay. The government should also stop the petrol station from continuing to operate and annul the Old Mint Street property deal. “I want better standards and I am doing this from the Opposition benches,” Dr Busuttil said.
CONSISTENCY NOT AMONG BUSUTTIL'S STRONG POINTS - PL
In a reply, the Labour Party said Dr Busuttil was persisting in his error of judgement by confirming he would continue to defend Dr Cassar because he believed him.
While Dr Busuttil said no one could expect him to dismiss Dr Cassar from the party based on the facts that had come out, he expected to be believed when he spoke about honest politics.
Consistency, the PL said, was not the Opposition leader’s strong point and he was again using double standards.