Update 14:40 PL says Tonio Fenech now tainted too 

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil this morning cautioned against treating the Panama Papers scandal as a closed case, and said Malta was living in a state of “abnormality” as those involved were still in office as if nothing had happened.

Addressing a political activity at the Paola PN club, he reiterated that the secret Panama companies belonging to Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s top aide Keith Schembri were the largest corruption scandal in history.

“We cannot consider ourselves as a normal country if those who committed such obscenities are still in office, or for the Prime Minister to keep saying that we are the best in Europe,” Dr Busuttil said.

The PN leader said that the Prime Minister’s decision to retain Mr Mizzi and Mr Schembri left the issue open in spite of Dr Muscat’s commitment to give weight to public sentiment.

“There is a huge degree of deception which has been going prior to the election, as this is the same person who was elected on the pledge of good governance.”

He added that having a strong economy did not give the government the right to immerse itself into corruption.

Dr Busuttil lashed out at the government’s “tactic” for trying to tarnish Opposition members so as to fuel the public perception that both parties were corrupt. “I refuse to be placed on the same level as the Prime Minister,” the PN leader told the crowd.

He also accused the PL government of hijacking all independent institutions to be able to act with impunity. 

“The only two remaining independent institutions are the Ombudsman and the Auditor General, for the simple reason that they have been elected with a two-thirds parliamentary majority.”

A strong economy did not give the government the right to immerse itself into corruption

He branded the police as a puppet force in the government’s hand, in the wake of the fact that no investigation was launched into the Panama Papers scandal.

“The commissioner’s role is like a revolving door as we now have the fifth different person in command in three years.”

Dr Busuttil did not mince his words, saying that acting Commissioner Laurence Cutajar lacked integrity. He backed his argument by referring to a series of Facebook posts by Mr Cutajar which the PN leader deemed as “full of government praise and foul language”.

“I reiterate my appeal to sit down with the Prime Minister to appoint a new Commissioner who enjoys the support of two thirds of members of Parliament.  I am not interested if he is Labour or Nationalist, my aim to have a man of integrity. The PN will have this in its electoral manifesto in two years’ time.

In his concluding remarks, the Opposition leader raised a series of questions, which he said had fuelled serious doubts on the Prime Minister’s credentials to lead the country.

Why did Dr Muscat ignore public sentiment in his reshuffle? Is it possible that he was not aware of the secret Panama companies from the very beginning? Is he also involved and being blackmailed by somebody? 

Dr Busuttil expressed concern that with the general election still two years away the current climate would damage Malta’s reputation. “The only way is to erase these doubts and the Prime Minister should resign.”

PN is like Leicester, says David Agius

Earlier, Opposition Whip David Agius compared the PN’s fortunes to those of newly-crowned Premiere League champions Leicester, saying that they still triumphed without having the huge financial resources of their rivals.

Not so long ago many believed that the PN was doomed, but it was now back in business as a united party, he said.

Busuttil should apply his own words to himself - PL

In a reply, the Labour Party said that if Dr Busuttil were serious about good governance, he would take action against his two deputy leaders as well as shadow finance spokesman Tonio Fenech. 

Deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami has been accused of building on land sitting outside a development zone, while the PL has also questioned the timing of payments made by deputy leader Mario de Marco to a construction company embroiled in the Panama Papers scandal. 

Reports that Mr Fenech, a former Finance Minister, chairs a company in the British Virgin Islands and is also involved in Jersey trusts  meant that he should tender his parliamentary resignation, the PL statement argued.