Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia drew parallels on Thursday between the fatal shooting of Raymond Caruana 33 years ago, and the car bomb murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia two years ago.
"The two cases took place when our country was overcome by corruption, when there were people who thought that no one could stand up to them and when the Labour Party felt it would always win," he said.
Dr Delia was speaking at a ceremony outside the Gudja PN club, which was targeted by a gunman who opened fire with a machine gun at the facade. One of the bullets pierced a secondary door and hit Mr Caruana, killing him instantly.
Mr Caruana's death changed the country in that after December 5, 1986 the country would no longer tolerate political violence, intimidation and politicians who thought they were above the law, Dr Delia said.
The Labour government of the time had been fighting the will of the people through lies and deception, as evidenced by the way Peter Paul Busuttil was framed for Caruana's shooting.
The PN had all the forces of the state against it at the time, but the people still sought and found the truth and it triumphed in the general election a few months later.
Dr Delia said the country was now again going through a constitutional and institutional crisis. Daphne Caruana Galizia had been killed because of corruption, with the involvement of the Office of the Prime Minister.
But the country was waking up to the reality and realising what had been happening over the past six years.
The government had taken control of the country's institutions, reducing the country to a hostage of a clique which took decisions in the interests of a few.
It was this clique which had stolen public hospitals and built a power station through corruption, with taxpayers' money ending up in the pockets of those involved in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The people were demanding justice. But for justice to be done, and be seen to be done, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat needed to step down immediately so that the country's reputation, its institutions and the rule of law could be rebuilt, Dr Delia said.