Nationalist MP Joseph Cassar, a former health minister, resigned from Parliament yesterday in the wake of press reports about dealings with the Gaffarena family.
Contacted by this newspaper, Dr Cassar said he regretted disappointing constituents through his resignation.
“I promise to remain the Dr Joe Cassar people have known. I would like to thank, in particular, Lawrence Gonzi who chose me to serve as health minister, which turned out to be one of my best experiences, and Simon Busuttil, whom I had the great fortune to work with during these last years,” he said.
If politics has plummeted to these levels, I am not willing to be part of it anymore
In his resignation letter to the leader of the Opposition, Dr Cassar said he had decided to vacate his seat because of the “ferocious attack” launched against him and his family.
“If politics has plummeted to these levels, I am not willing to be part of it anymore. I entered politics to help others but will not allow others to attack my character,” he said.
The media reported over the weekend that controversial businessman Joe Gaffarena had not only given Dr Cassar a car but had also paid for construction works at his family home when he was Cabinet minister in 2011.
Dr Cassar denied any wrongdoing and said he would be taking legal steps because he did not want to continue to be used as an excuse to damage the Nationalist Party.
Dr Busuttil described the move as an “honourable decision” that had raised the standards of Maltese politics.
On Saturday, he had described Dr Cassar’s link to the Gaffarenas, mainly dealing with the car that Dr Cassar got from Joseph Gaffarena for his teenage daughter, as an “error of judgement”. The weekend media reports led Dr Cassar to resign from his position as Opposition culture spokesman before ultimately calling it a day from Parliament yesterday.
Speaking to the Times of Malta moments after the resignation was made public, Dr Busuttil said the ball was now in Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s court.
Dr Muscat, he said, would have to call for the resignation of Planning Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon over his involvement in the contentious expropriation of a Valletta property owned by the Gaffarenas.