The Opposition will table a no-confidence motion in Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia, requesting his removal from Cabinet, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil announced last night.
Speaking during a press conference at PN headquarters immediately after Joseph Muscat’s Budget speech in Parliament, Dr Busuttil said that, since the Prime Minister did not have the courage to sack Dr Mallia after last week’s scandalous shooting incident, the Opposition would take action in Parliament.
“It seems that the Prime Minister is afraid of doing what everyone is expecting him to do and remove Dr Mallia from office.
We have decided to ask Parliament to censure and remove Minister Mallia from his post
“We have now decided to do what the Prime Minister doesn’t want to do and ask Parliament to censure and remove Minister Mallia from his post.”
Despite a Cabinet already riddled with scandals, Dr Muscat in his speech chose to defend only Dr Mallia, at all costs, Dr Busuttil said.
He questioned what was behind this inexplicable defence, saying the public had lost all faith in the minister who was supposed to be responsible for the country’s law and order and for the population’s security.
A week after the driver of Dr Mallia’s car shot at another person’s car, the chauffeur had still to be arraigned in court.
This showed the government wanted to create a cover-up for this crime, he argued.
“All we want is for the Prime Minister to do his job.
“Someone has to shoulder responsibility over this serious incident,” Dr Busuttil insisted.
While he defended Dr Mallia, Dr Muscat did not do the same for Helena Dalli for carrying out illegal works at her property in Żejtun, the Opposition leader pointed out.
Neither did he condemn MP Luciano Busuttil, who was caught in the act of double representation as a lawyer, which was illegal.
Dr Busuttil said the Prime Minister had lost the moral high ground and was leading a government bereft of principle.
Turning to the delay in the building of a gas power plant, Dr Busuttil said that, despite an angry speech by the Prime Minister of more than two hours, Dr Muscat had still not provided a new deadline for the power station to be built.
“While admitting that Labour’s biggest project – that of building a gas power station in two years – has failed, the Prime Minister did not even have the decency of telling the public when the project would start.”
The government had been inventing new dates and timelines on the project for the past two years and the electorate was now starting to recognise that the Labour government was based on hollow promises and lies, Dr Busuttil said.