The Nationalist Party will not be used as a smokescreen to hide the government's disregard of the common good, Adrian Delia said on Saturday.
Speaking during a short telephone interview on Net FM, the Nationalist Party leader referred to two Opposition MP resignations from government boards earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Ryan Callus quit his post on the Lands Authority’s board of governors, just days after Marthese Portelli resigned from the Planning Authority board.
While the voice of the minority still needed to be heard and the PN was willing to shoulder its responsibility, the party was not willing to be used as a smokescreen in institutions that were under the government’s hold. - Adrian Delia
Both resignations were backed by Dr Delia, with the PN saying that Mr Callus was quitting due to “unprecedented” government interference in the board and the authority’s work.
Meanwhile, Dr Portelli said it was becoming clearer that the PA had been taken over by forces and people who were completely ignoring the common good.
On Saturday, the PN leader said that while the voice of the minority still needed to be heard and the Opposition was willing to shoulder its responsibility, the party was not willing to be used as a smokescreen in institutions that were under the government’s hold.
In such cases, discussion about pertinent issues was just pretense, as the government would have decided on things beforehand and behind closed doors, he added.
“I don’t want the PN to be used to make it seem as if everything is in order,” Dr Delia said, adding that people in government who were meant to be making decisions for the common good were instead abusing their power to fatten their pockets and that of their friends.
These people were stealing from citizens, including workers who lived pay cheque to pay cheque, he said.
This behaviour, Dr Delia warned, was not consequence-free, and could see a rise of internal struggles.
Dr Delia called on listeners to speak up and discuss their concerns with the party.
“We will never give up, we will not be bought by anyone and we will not be a puppet in any government’s hands,” he said.