PN leader Simon Busuttil.

Rebuilding the Nationalist Party on the foundations of honesty was the antidote to the institutionalised corruption in the country, Simon Busuttil said yesterday.

The Opposition leader said he inherited “a wreck” when he became PN leader following the defeat in the last general election and insisted he wanted to change the way politics was done.

“Honesty is the strong foundation of the party’s regeneration. This was my principle even before government got embroiled in all these scandals. Politics is a service not a job. It is a mission and a vocation,” Dr Busuttil said when interviewed by Manuel Schembri on RTK radio.

He said institutionalised corruption was manifested most recently in the scandal surrounding visa and residence permits. Dr Busuttil said close to 14,000 such permits were issued last year. “That’s as many people as there are living in Mosta. That’s as many as the number of irregular immigrants arriving in Malta in an entire 10 years.”

He called on the Prime Minister to order a public inquiry into the way visa and residence permits were being issued after a meeting of the Security Committee on Thursday failed to address the PN’s concerns.

“If things were done correctly, there would be no argument. But the question is: how many of these 14,000 really deserved the permit or did they get it as a result of bribes or corruption? In that case, we have a problem,” Dr Busuttil said.

He said such problems were caused because the people chosen to work in the departments dealing with such issues were handpicked because of who they were rather than what they were able to do.

He dismissed accusations that the Opposition’s criticism was “negative”, stressing the PN had an important role to play in a true democracy, especially one based on a two-party system. “If government is doing nothing about [Mark] Gaffarena should I ignore it?”

He stressed the PN was also about being an alternative government. Dr Busuttil said that, since the legislature was now half-way through, the PN would be shifting gear and presenting proposals to serve as a guideline to how the Opposition would act when in government. “These guidelines would be applicable from day one,” he added.

He spoke on the need for the party to reflect changes in society when asked about the party’s motto religio e patria. The motto reflected the party’s roots, he said, adding the PN had to reflect the fact that society had changed.

“Historically, that’s the way it was but this is not part of our statute. We are not tied to religion. We can’t say we are all Catholics in this day and age. There is also freedom of belief. I am a practising Catholic but we are there for those who have different beliefs or none at all,” he said.

Dr Busuttil said that although the party was still inspired by the teachings of the Church, such as when expressing solidarity with migrants, it also had to reflect a broader spectrum of beliefs.

caroline.muscat@timesofmalta.com