Pressure builds on Abela: PN want answers; Momentum, ADPD demand resignation

Updated 6pm

Robert Abela has to answer for today’s “unprecedented” developments, opposition leader Alex Borg said on Tuesday, in his first comments since the emergence of Judge Wenzu Mintoff’s bombshell letter.

The PN leader's comments come as two smaller parties, Momentum and ADPD called for the prime minister to resign.

In comments to Times of Malta, Borg said that a prime minister who interferes with the work of the judiciary, "affects the independence of the judiciary".

He said the revelations in Mintoff's letter had "shaken the foundations of our institutions". 

However, he would not be drawn on publicly discussing names for the Chief Justice role.

In his letter, Mintoff levelled a series of accusations against Abela, claiming he pressured the judge's staff over an ongoing case, among other things.

“That a sitting judge makes serious accusations against a prime minister is shocking and shows the state we are in,” Borg said in a televised address earlier on Tuesday afternoon, describing the situation as “unprecedented”.

“That these accusations include allegations of interference into the judiciary is even more serious,” he added.

“Abela has a lot to answer for,” Borg said, insisting that the Maltese are “waiting to hear Abela’s reply to Mintoff’s accusations”.

'Bullying tactics'

Abela has to say whether it is true that he used “bullying tactics” in a case presided by Judge Mintoff, as well as whether he really placed money above the judiciary’s independence, as alleged by Mintoff, Borg said.

The PN leader said issues raised by Mintoff in his letter “reveal the true reason why Abela does not want to consider his nomination,” with Mintoff pushing back against the PM on at least two occasions.

Borg also described Abela’s alleged comments about his own father’s appointment as president and that of Joseph Azzopardi as Chief Justice as “shameful”. Abela is alleged to have described both their appointments as a "mistake".

According to Borg, the letter also confirmed how Abela is manoeuvring to delay the appointment of Chief Justice until after the next general election and using it for partisan purposes.

In a statement issued after Borg's address, the Labour Party accused Borg of "playing the extremists' political game".

It called for Borg to give his reaction to a second name the government has proposed as the next chief justice. 

'Step aside' - Momentum

Partit Momentum called on the prime minister to "step aside in the national interest and to safeguard the integrity of our democratic system".

Party secretary general Mark Camilleri Gambin insisted that "restoring credibility to our institutions is now a very serious and urgent matter."

"Malta deserves institutions that serve the people, not Prime Ministers who use the institutions to serve their own greedy and egoistic needs," he added.

Momentum stressed that "all facts must come out" and people must be "reassured" that justice is administered "without fear or favour".

Camilleri Gambin also pointed out that in a democratic state, "the judiciary must be free from political interference, both in reality and in perception."

ADPD files FOI

ADPD have filed a Freedom of Information request asking for all communication and correspondence with members of the judiciary following the revelations in Judge Wenzu Mintoff’s letter to Cabinet.

The Green Party's deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said that he expected the Prime Minister to resign following the letter's revelations.

"Faced with the news this morning, a prime minister who has the minimum of respect towards this country would have submitted his immediate resignation," Cacopardo said.

"After the information published this morning, it is inevitable that we ask a very simple question: is this all? On what other matters does the executive discuss with the judiciary away from the spotlights?"

ADPD asked the Justice Ministry and the Office of the Prime Minister for full details of meetings held with any members of the judiciary and copies of any form of communication and correspondence.

Repubblika: We need major reform

Rule of law NGO Repubblika said the incident was further evidence of the need for constitutional reform.

The NGO believes the chief justice should be appointed by members of the judiciary, removing political involvement in the process altogether.

"Such a reform would better safeguard judicial independence, prevent perceptions of political bargaining, and protect judges from being drawn into political controversy," it said in a statement. 

"At stake is not the standing of any individual, but the credibility of our justice system, which is already diminished in the public’s perception by endemic delays and other evidence of dysfunction.

"The rule of law depends not only on the unimpeachable integrity of office-holders: it rests, too, on institutional designs that shield members of the judiciary from improper pressure, from the appearance of partisanship, and from suspicion of personal lobbying for office or for promotion."