Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1189024
had to shoulder responsibility for the government's actions. "I was not perfect and had my faults but I also shouldered responsibility for the actions of others," he said. This was the closest Muscat came to acknowledging the wrongdoing of his most trust- ed aide, Keith Schembri, who he never mentioned by name. The Prime Minister said that he will continue serving the country until a new leader and prime minister are cho- sen. He also gave the impres- sion that Malta should return to business as usual. "Tomorrow the work con- tinues," he said, adding the step he was taking was in the country's best interest. The address started with a pop version of the national anthem that jarred with the sobriety of the occasion. He also went on a lengthy list of his government's achieve- ments over the past seven years, adding his move was intended to preserve this leg- acy. Muscat must leave now Reacting to the announce- ment, NGO Repubblika ex- pressed its concern that despite announcing his de- parture the Prime Minister will remain in his office in Castille. The NGO said Muscat was not only at the heart of the biggest scandal in Malta's po- litical history but should be investigated. "He has to get out in order that evidence against him can be safeguarded… There is a reasonable and serious sus- picion that at the very least, Joseph Muscat was, and still is involved in a cover up to free his friends from being charged with the assassina- tion of Daphne Caruana Gali- zia," Repubblika said. It called on Muscat to hand over the keys of his office to his deputy and the police should ask for a magisterial inquiry to have all evidence safeguarded. "These should include the servers of all the email ac- counts held by Joseph Mus- cat, including, but not only, his official email account. All material that might result as evidence must be urgently re- moved from Joseph Muscat's house, where Keith Schembri spent the evening immedi- ately before he was arrested," Repubblika said. The group described Mus- cat's intention to stay on until 12 January as a "threat and an insult to the process of jus- tice". Repubblika urged people to join them in protest in front of Parliament today at 4pm. 3 maltatoday | MONDAY • 2 DECEMBER 2019 NEWS The resignation will be televised: "I was not perfect and had my faults but I also shouldered responsibility for the actions of others." "It is not right that a person, with her good and bad, who contributed to democracy had to be killed this way... The anger and disappointment are understandable and it is never justified to somehow justify the murder. OPPOSITION leader Adrian Delia has called out Labour MPs for continuing to "protect" Joseph Muscat rather than force him to resign immediately. In a televised address, Delia said the Prime Minister should heed the mul- tiple calls for his resignation and leave immediately. On Sunday morning, the Labour Party's parliamentary group met in an emergency session at the Prime Min- ister's residence in Girgenti, to discuss Muscat's potential exit, and whether he should leave now or stay on till Janu- ary, when a new Labour leader will be elected. Labour MPs voted unanimously to give Joseph Muscat the final decision on how he should proceed in the lead- up to a Labour leadership election that will be held on the 18 January, 2020. Reacting to developments, Delia said that as long as Muscat remains PM, the nation cannot be assured that justice will be served. "The Opposition sees Muscat as hav- ing lost his credibility, after choosing to protect the interests of his chosen few, instead of the interests of the nation," Delia said. Delia also said that the country has become victim to a constitutional crisis created by those who should have re- signed years ago. The PN leader also urged support- ers to join in the protest being held in Valletta today at 4 pm by civil society groups. "The Opposition has done its part, civil society has done its part, now it's time for Muscat to resign," Delia said. Delia also called out the decision to reinstate Chris Cardona as economy minister. "We must remember that he [Chris Cardona] is still subject to a magiste- rial inquiry, and his position no longer remains credible," Delia said. Delia also hit out at the Labour parlia- mentary group, who he says have cho- sen to prioritise their interests before the nation's. "In the same way Joseph Muscat chose to protect Keith Schembri and Kon- rad Mizzi, they have chosen to protect Muscat," Delia stated. Adrian Delia calls out Labour MPs for choosing to protect Joseph Muscat