The Nationalist Party will this afternoon lead a national protest in Valletta against corruption. Keith Micallef questions Opposition leader Simon Busuttil on the PN’s credentials to lead such a crusade, three years after it was resoundingly voted out of office.

The Nationalist Party has decided to mobilise the masses and call a national protest against corruption. Apart from the media exposure, what is your aim?

The PN will be staging this protest to give a voice to those who are disgusted with the corruption crisis affecting this government. We are inviting people of goodwill, regardless of their political beliefs, to join. This kind of corruption is not on.

The Prime Minister has said he would be willing to attend to the protest, but would not do so as he has no trust in your leadership, (since you were) part of the last “corrupt” PN government. In essence, he says you have no credibility on corruption as you had not even reported the whistleblower in the “works for votes” scandal who approached you before going public.

Everyone knows I was neither a minister nor part of the government. The contactor had told me he was owed money by the State, and I told him that only the government could handle such a complaint. In this case I had taken prompt action and asked former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono to resign from the PN as her position was no longer tenable. In contrast, when the Prime Minister was faced with such situations he either took no action or did so belatedly.

Why is the Prime Minister failing to take action against his closest aide and his right-hand man? Is he somehow involved? This is what people are asking.

The Labour Party is branding this protest as a PN activity. Questions have been raised why no such protest was organised when the party was in government, at the height of the oil procurement scandal in January 2013.

This is not a Nationalist protest but a national one. What is going on right now is unprecedented in terms of seriousness and gravity. No minister together with the Prime Minister’s chief of staff had ever been caught opening a secret Panamanian company while in government. The Prime Minister is trying to deflect attention by pointing fingers to mistakes committed by past PN governments.

While such an excuse could have been valid in the first months of this legislature, Labour has been in government for three years. What is going on right now is much, much worse than anything that surfaced previously.

Let us not forget that the PN is in Opposition after paying a hefty political price for its mistakes. As the new PN leader my ambition is to rebuild the party on strong foundations. My one and only weapon with which I aim to defeat Joseph Muscat is honesty.

The announcement of this demonstration also took many people by surprise as this is the same party which not so long ago used to criticise mass demonstrations for destabilising the economy. It seems that solving problems around the table is only fashionable when the PN is in government.

Contrary to what happens in many other countries, in Malta it is the Opposition which is always going out of its way to seek consensus with the government. We have already offered our support on issues like health, education and immigration. This government never speaks about consensus. Let me give you an example. Even in those instances when the Prime Minister is obliged by law to consult me on certain decisions, he avoids meeting me face-to-face, and instead notifies me in writing.

In these circumstances our only option is to try and make him listen through this protest.

Why is the Prime Minister failing to take action against his closest aide and his right-hand man? Is he somehow involved? This is what people are asking

But where will this demonstration lead to?

I expect people to stand up and be counted and become more aware about the problem of corruption, which doesn’t seem to be bothering this government. The feedback so far for this national protest, which I reiterate has nothing to do with partisan politics, is that corruption is unacceptable across the board regardless of one’s political background.

Coming just three years after the PN government’s landslide defeat, what credibility does the party have to lead this crusade against corruption when you are still flanked by several members of that Cabinet?

If there is something which is coming too early it is not this protest but the fact that in just three years this government has fallen into the greatest corruption crisis ever. That is one thing which people had never expected. What the PN failed to do in 25 years of government has already been surpassed in less than three years of a Labour administration.

But disillusioned voters won’t be impressed with such an argument. Is it not a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Are you afraid that the overall winner in the current scenario might be a third party which might emerge on the strength of having no political baggage?

I am deeply saddened that the scandals hitting this government are giving politics a bad name and eroding people’s overall trust in it, including my own party. This is why I am stressing honesty. I am fully aware that when I offered myself for the leadership I faced a very daunting task.

As for the third party, it is amply clear that in Malta it is much easier to rebuild a large party from within, than making a breakthrough via a third party. While I have huge respect for Alternattiva Demokratika, the bottom line is that in its 30-year history it never managed to garner more than three per cent of the votes. On the other hand, in just three years I have reformed the party from top to bottom.

How challenging are you finding it to win back the people’s trust, three years after such a landslide defeat?

The fact that people might be losing trust in politicians places more responsibility on my shoulders to sow the seeds to rebuild this bond. We are trying to reach this objective by making our own clear proposals. In this respect we have been very active and presented more than 100 of these proposals. It is up to the people to make their judgement. I believe that looking in someone’s eyes is enough to determine if they are telling the truth.

Do you have any guarantee, that come tomorrow morning, you will not be faced with a Nationalist MP who would have a similar financial structure on the same lines of those which have stirred the current controversy surrounding the Energy Minister and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff?

Last year, when the Swiss leaks scandal surfaced, I had asked all Nationalist MPs to sign a declaration in which they were asked if they had any foreign accounts or trusts which were never listed in their annual declaration of assets.

All of them signed it, and are fully aware of my track record on the Swiss leaks scandal. [Former PN minister Ninu Zammit had been suspended by the party while former minister Michael Falzon had suspended himself]. Who signed in bad faith is fully aware of my standards regarding such issues.

So are you declaring that any MP caught filing a false declaration will be asked to resign in line with your call for Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri to step down?

I already did such a thing. I reiterate that in the wake of the Swiss leaks scandal I had immediately taken action against the two persons involved. The issue about the Panama scandal is that these financial structures were set up when Dr Mizzi was already a minister and when Mr Schembri was already the Prime Minister’s chief of staff. I cannot understand how both of them are still in their respective posts.

Would you consider going a step further and imposing an outright ban on PN MPs, candidates and officials from being silent partners in any company, or to have offshore financial structures or trusts?

We have already made over 100 proposals in the good governance document issued last December which also deals with acceptable ethical behaviour. These proposals are still open for public consultation, and we are open to ideas on how to improve them further.

In this respect the PN is proposing a more detailed annual declaration of assets for MPs and tighter deadlines to submit the documentation. Other proposals, which we have already put forward are meant to address situations dealing with a potential conflict of interest, as well as the kind of links which anyone entering politics should have.

In this respect, do you subscribe to the concerns raised from time to time about professional links which MPs might have with third parties? A case in point are Labour MP Joe Sammut and PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami who at some point in time were the lawyers for Mark Gaffarena – the businessman involved in the highly controversial expropriation deal that led to the resignation of Michael Falzon from Cabinet as well as former health minister Joe Cassar from Parliament.

The good governance document calls for the introduction of full-time MPs whereby parliamentarians would be given the choice to focus exclusively on their job as legislators but renounce their private practice. Nevertheless, who does not take this offer will be then subjected to tighter rules, regulating cases of potential conflict of interest as mentioned before.

Touching on the latest development in Panamagate, the Prime Minister has said that Dr Mizzi rectified the situation by paying a fine. [He later corrected himself saying he had applied to do so]. Do you think this was enough, or did you expect the Energy Minister and the chief of staff to shoulder political responsibility?

The Prime Minister is defending the indefensible, to ridiculous levels. Initially the people’s reaction was of anger and disgust at the scandal itself but now this sentiment has shifted against the Prime Minister for his handling of the situation. The least we should expect is for the Prime Minister to admit that there had been wrongdoing and thus ensure that responsibility is shouldered.

Last year, when the Swiss leaks scandal had surfaced, I had asked all Nationalist MPs to sign a declaration, in which they were asked if they had any foreign accounts or trusts which were never listed in their annual declaration of assets

Former Labour MP Marlene Farrugia, who is now an independent MP, expressed her willingness to file a no-confidence motion in Dr Mizzi, in the absence of such a move from the Opposition. Is the PN considering such an option?

The PN will not rule out anything. Any action will be taken at the right time. What we are doing now is forming a majority against corruption, outside Parliament. Unfortunately there is no such majority in Parliament as otherwise the government would have collapsed.

If the government remains embroiled in what you are describing as a “corruption crisis” should the Prime Minister call an early election?

Unlike a normal democracy in which they would be expected to resign, Dr Muscat’s right-handman and his closest aide are still in their respective posts a week-and-a-half after the scandal broke. The natural conclusion is that the problem is at the very top. This government is rotten to the core.

Undoubtedly, if the Prime Minister is not able to fight corruption by taking action himself, on a big issue like this, it means he is not capable of running the country.

So should he call an election?

The Prime Minister is directly responsible in this case as the protagonists are his own chief of staff and his second in command. Yes, I believe that the Prime Minister should shoulder political responsibility.

In June 2014, you had tweeted “No more to Sunday sermons” thus signalling the end of the traditional Sunday morning activities which have dominated our political scene for more than three decades. Is this directive still in place or have you committed a U-turn?

It takes two to tango. This government is based on confrontation and so we cannot give him a walkover. Though we wished to have tackled the situation differently we have been forced to play the same game. This was not the only occasion in which I had tried to extend the hand of friendship to the government.

President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was the first head of State to receive the unanimous backing from the opposing political camp.

A newspaper report recently claimed that incumbent PN general secretary Rosette Thake is the highest-ever paid party official receiving an annual package of €60,000 per year. This in spite of the fact that contrary to her predecessors, she has a dedicated deputy leader for party affairs and a CEO running its commercial entities. Is this true?

This story is a complete lie from beginning to end.

Though the general election is still two years away, do you see yourself at the helm of the party if the PN is on the losing side?

I believe the PN is being rebuilt on the values of honesty and integrity. With such weapons I can win any day against Joseph Muscat.

But what if you fail?

The important thing is not my future but that of the country. This country needs to cleanse its politics once and for all. I am volunteering to do it.