The Maltese bishops this morning expressed their concern about the "situation in the country", a day after the President made a similar appeal.

"We are making an appeal to all people of goodwill to weigh carefully the President's words, and we invite all Christians to pray. Above all, we need to pray for unity, liberty, the truth and justice," said a statement signed by Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Gozo bishop Mario Grech.

The bishops did not make any specific references to any political controversies, though the last week has been dominated by the Panama scandal and Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi's arraignment, which brought about tension outside the law courts.

Writing in Times of Malta yesterday, President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said: “We cannot allow our democracy to be diluted".

“We cannot shed our responsibilities for short-term political gains. This will only serve the few and not our nation."

Ms Coleiro Preca urged the political leaders to realise that “short-term gains achieved by escalating tempers will not serve the purpose of our nation but will only serve the short-sightedness, once again, of the few”.

CMTU also 'preoccupied'

In another statement, the CMTU said it is "preoccupied" with the gravity of the present situation in Malta.

"The CMTU would like to express its preoccupation on the gravity of the situation in the country following the international publication of the Panama papers, the resulting anger of Maltese public opinion, and the consequences of delay of important and necessary decisions by the Maltese government."

In a mature democratic society, social partners must be able to criticise the government without any form of intimidation

The CMTU said it agreed with UHM Voice of the Workers and the Malta Employers Association which expressed concern that the negative publicity spawned by the scandal will have an impact on the Malta financial services industry and employment.

The confederation said it condemned the personal attacks on UHM and MEA officials who have expressed this opinion, saying this appeared to be a threat to the fundamental right freedom of expression.

"In a mature democratic society, social partners must be able to criticise the government without any form of intimidation."