Updated 3.41 pm with remarks by the PN's general secretary below. 

Opposition leader Bernard Grech has insisted that Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri must also step down after news broke that Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo had resigned on Tuesday. 

Bartolo stepped down weeks after a Standards Commissioner report concluded that he abused his ministerial power by giving his wife a top-paid consultancy job she did not do.

While Prime Minister Robert Abela has previously said that he saw no reason for Bartolo to resign over the scandal, it is understood that a yet-unreported second scandal involving Bartolo and his wife has now come to his attention. 

In reaction, Grech said that the resignation was yet another "U-turn" after the former minister spent weeks "defending fraud" and was only a half-hearted reaction after the public "united against Robert Abela's fraud". 

He added that it is, however, not enough for just Bartolo to step down. 

"Beyond returning the entire €70,000, Robert Abela must immediately remove Clint Camilleri, who is guilty of fraud and a cover-up," Grech said.

"Events like today's happen only because the people stand against the government's wrongdoing."

‘People want accountability’

During a brief video message, Grech said Bartolo’s resignation was a win for the Maltese and Gozitans who spoke out against those who “defended the indefensible”. 

“A Prime Minister who saw nothing wrong that Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri discussed between themselves to create a phantom job for Bartolo’s partner, now wife,” Grech said. 

Grech said the Nationalist Party spoke out in parliament against the scandal, held numerous press conferences and got people out in the street to protest. 

“Just yesterday in parliament, I called for the two ministers to resign, and to refund the €70k stolen from the people,” he said.

Grech said Bartolo’s resignation is a good first step, but not enough. He said the people will continue to call for accountability and stand against Abela, who continues to defend the indefensible. 

“The people are clear on what they want. The editorials are clear, and even the students are speaking out,” he said. 

“Now is the time for Clint Camilleri to resign. If Clayton Bartolo did wrong, he did even worse, as Camilleri gave Amanda Muscat the phantom job.”

He said Abela will continue to come up with excuses to defend Camilleri, but the PN will continue to fight for accountability.

I’m being used to attack the government - Bartolo 

In a statement that did not address the reasons behind his resignation, Bartolo said that he had decided to step down as his position was being used to harm the government’s reputation. 

“When I was appointed to cabinet I had given my word that if during my tenure I became a reason to attach the work of the government or the Labour Party, I would take political responsibility,” he said. 

He said that he was proud to leave behind a tourism industry that is now built on solid foundations and said that under his political direction, the country’s film industry had performed excellently on an international level.

Delayed resignation harmed the country - ADPD 

In a statement on Tuesday, ADPD said the delay in Bartolo's resignation has "harmed the country" and that he should have stepped down much earlier, despite the party welcoming the news. 

Party leader Sandra Gauci said the party now also expects Clint Camilleri to follow suit and resign. 

“Ministers should be the first to set an example in how they govern, and if they fail, they should step down or be removed,” she said. 

“The use of public funds should always be transparent, as these are, after all, the people’s taxes. Every cent should be accounted for, and we should know where and how it was spent. This is true accountability.”

It is detrimental to citizens when the government allows favouritism to fester, she went on to say and that the prime minister should have forced the two to resign long ago.

“Instead, he waited to see if public opinion would be vocal enough. This implies weak leadership that lacks a sense of ethics, and also highlights the crucial role of independent media, civil society, and political pluralism in serving as a shield for the public, who are practically being robbed of their money every day,” she added. “Now we expect the resignation of another Minister, Clint Camilleri, who was instrumental in enabling Clayton Bartolo’s abuse. We also expect Amanda Muscat to return the money she pocketed for work she never did,” Gauci said.

Bartolo's dismissal not enough - Repubblika 

In a statement, rule of law NGO Repubblika said that Bartolo's dismissal is not enough as it appears that he was not asked to step down due to the Standards' Commisioner's findings.

The prime minister, they said, must explain what this reason is and account for its actions to parliament and to the public. 

"Instead, once again, we must rely on journalists to uncover what ministers are doing behind closed doors," they said. 

"Maintaining high standards of behavior in public life is important because we have every reason to expect that those entrusted with political power are people of integrity and loyalty to the public."

Even if the hidden reason for Clayton Bartolo’s dismissal is more serious, they continued, the findings of the Commissioner for Standards should have serious consequences.

They also said that Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri should resign immediately.

Reacting to Abela saying it was "extreme" for activists to ask for a police investigation into the standards report involving Camilleri and Bartolo, the group said it is their duty to demand justice. 

"It is not extremism to ask the police to investigate a suspected crime. On the contrary, it is the duty of every honest citizen. The Prime Minister’s duty is to ensure that the law applies equally to everyone, not to act as the lawyer for his friends. That is what the rule of law means - not the abuse of power by wrongdoers," they said. 

Ministers who breach ethics should get no compensation - Cassola

Independent election candidate Arnold Cassola insisted that ministers who are forced to resign in disgrace are not given any terminal benefits that are reserved for ministers who have terminated their post honourably.   

"We already have the absurd situation of Joseph Muscat, a crooked Ex-Prime Minister who received a €120,000 terminal benefit and is still being financed by the taxpayer to this day .Other disgraced ministers and parliamentary secretaries have benefited from such treatment," Cassola said in a statement.

Politicians who have betrayed the trust of their voters should not be compensated for their betrayal, he added. 

Entire Cabinet implicated in 'widespread fraud'- PN general secretary

All the government's ministers are implicated in widespread fraud, PN general secretary Michael Picinino said on Tuesday afternoon, hours after Clayton Bartolo was sacked as tourism minister and a PL MP.   

"Our country has a government in crisis that is too distracted by the theft and fraud being done by all its ministers to focus on improving the Maltese peoples' quality of life," Piccinino told a press conference. 

He said fraud had "spread across several ministries" in the last months. That included the ID cards "racket," electoral fraud through the granting of government flats in Siggiewi before the EP elections, the driving licences scandal, and the Vitals scandal.   

 "In a cabinet where it's not one minister, but several (who committed fraud) it's the entire cabinet that is responsible because of collective responsibility," Piccinino said.   "All the ministers, at this stage, are responsible, maybe not legally, but on a political level. When you have ministers who continue to support more than one minister who was involved in fraud, they are all politically responsible," he said.  Asked if the entire cabinet should resign, Piccinino said: "First of all, those who are directly responsible should leave; in this case, it is Clint Camilleri," he said.