Opposition leader Adrian Delia said today that the Nationalist Party was and would remain one party.
Speaking briefly at Marsa PN club this morning, Dr Delia said that in a process of change it was inevitable that many voices were heard, but the PN would remain united, and he thanked all those participating in the electoral processes currently under way.
The PN leader made his remark in the context of reports of divisions within the PN parliamentary group, with some MPs reportedly refusing to back him.
Earlier in his address, Dr Delia also insisted that Malta is not a Mafia state and everyone should object to this tag.
“Malta is not a mafia state, but a state with a corrupt government. The government is not the country,” Dr Delia said.
He said the Pana Committee’s comments on Malta last week were troubling, especially where it said that the rule of law in this country was threatened.
The committee had also said that it wanted to investigative how Pilatus Bank was attempting to gag the media.
The opposition, Dr Delia, had for four years been pointing to the problems that the Pana committee had now confirmed.
Malta had become a country where those who spoke out against irregularities were labelled traitors, but then nothing was done about those irregularities. This was symptomatic of the state of the country, where the institutions had been undermined and checks and balances removed.
The most basic elements for democracy to function, were themselves not functioning – not because Malta lacked legislation, but owing to government manipulation which ensured that people did not do their duty.
The people, he said, were gradually realising what the current situation meant for their everyday lives.
Speaking at Marsa PN club, Dr Delia said that what up to a few years ago was the safest country was now a country where people were scared of staying at home alone, where parents were scared of leaving their children on the buses or going out alone.
This was not because of migration but because the government had not ensured that the police force functioned well. Despite economic wealth and a surplus, police stations were closed and police presence where needed, was weak.
This applied to other areas too. It was shocking, Dr Delia said, that at Mt Carmel Hospital, roofs were collapsing and needed to be shored up.
He hoped this institution had not been ignored because the patients could not vote.
Society had to care for the most vulnerable first and foremost, but this was not what the government had done. This was not a normal county.
Dr Delia said he welcomed the pay agreement reached between the government and the teachers. But the education system was in crisis because of the government’s lack of planning.
In the environment sector too, the waste management problem was still not solved, and it was useless of the government to blame the opposition for it.
The Nationalist Party, he said, would not let the government ignore everyone and everything.