The Opposition has called on the Prime Minister to take legal action to recover the €4.2 million paid by the government for the Café Premier in Valletta.

Addressing a press conference in front of the law courts, justice shadow minister Jason Azzopardi invited Joseph Muscat to be consistent and take the same course of action he opted for to recoup the money and land given to Mark Gaffarena for the expropriation of part of a building in Valletta.

“While at it, the Prime Minister should demonstrate consistency and file cases against the Labour Party to give back the Australia Hall and against the Café Premier owners to restore €4.2 million,” Dr Azzopardi said.

Recalling that the Auditor General had slammed Dr Muscat over his personal intervention so that the Café Premier owners would be given €4.2 million to give back to the government its own property, Dr Azzopardi accused the Prime Minister of double standards.

While at it,the PM should demonstrate consistency and file cases against the Café Premier owners to restore €4.2 million

In a report published last week, the National Audit Office concluded that there had been “collusion” in the Gaffarena deal. Following the tabling of the report in Parliament, the Prime Minister initiated a court case against Mr Gaffarena and the Land Department to annul two deeds signed with regard to the property in question.

The Prime Minister argued that the right of compensation granted by the government did not belong only to Mr Gaffarena but also to the other owners of the building.

He therefore asked the court to declare the deal null and to order Mr Gaffarena to return the €3.4 million in cash and land granted to him as compensation.

The Nationalist Party deems the court case to be a “farce”, since the Land Department falls under Dr Muscat’s remit of political responsibility.

Former planning parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon resigned in the wake of the Auditor General’s report last week.