The PN has insisted that a "lot of silent people" will speak with their votes against Labour in the next election despite polls showing they are on course to win by a large majority.
In a news conference on Tuesday, the Nationalist Party reiterated their claim that Prime Minister Robert Abela has lost control of the government and must sack Education Minister Justyne Caruana immediately.
The PN said that in just one day on Monday, Ian Castaldi Paris announced he will not run for the next election and Silvio Grixti resigned from parliament, while Caruana remains in post.
"This shows that Robert Abela's government is collapsing," insisted candidates Justin Schembri, Charles Azzopardi and Rebecca Cilia.
They argued that the government is inconsistent in the way it treats its MPs.
"Some resign, others are fired; some just resign from their ministry, but not from parliament; others, like Castaldi Paris, decide not to run again, pretending that everything is fine; and some don't even resign at all," Azzopardi said.
"Robert Abela made Rosianne Cutajar resign before the Hyzler report was concluded, but is reluctant to fire Caruana, even after the report has been finished and published," Cilia added.
On Monday morning, MP Castaldi Paris announced he will stand down at the next election after Times of Malta reported that a tax investigation revealed he holds undeclared wealth.
Shortly afterwards, Grixti resigned from parliament after being interrogated by the police over an investigation in irregular medical sick notes.
Meanwhile, Caruana has vanished out of sight after a report by the ethics commissioner found her in breach of ethics when she gave a €15,000 direct order contract to a close friend who was not qualified to do the job.
Caruana is yet to react to and answer questions about the report, and the PN insisted she is avoiding public appearances at all costs because she specifically gifted the direct order to Daniel Bogdanovic when she was aware he was not doing the work. She then failed to rescind the contract.
Asked to explain how, despite the recent string of revelations, the latest poll numbers show that Labour is getting stronger, Schembri said there are many "silent votes".
"We will continue to work and believe because there are a lot of silent people who will speak with their vote in due time."
The PN slammed the government for the surging pandemic numbers, saying that teachers, parents and children are being sent home with books, unsure whether schools will reopen after the Christmas holidays.
Caruana is more concerned about keeping her place as a minister than about drafting a way to deal with the pandemic in schools, they said.
They also urged the government to temporarily retain the wage supplement or reduce VAT to 7% for restaurants and bars.