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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 APRIL 2015 3 News Revealed: Sketch of Joseph Muscat statue for Castille Square AN artist has been commis- sioned to build a monument for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, MaltaToday has learned. The sketch, which is being published exclusively by this newspaper, shows the Prime Minister standing ramrod straight, looking proudly into the distance. It is understood that the monument will be positioned among the relocated monu- ments to former prime minis- ters in Castille Square. The Grand Harbour Regen- eration Committee never gave a definite answer on whether the monuments would all be gathered outside Auberge de Castille. MaltaToday can confirm that the sketch was included in a file on the Castille Square project passed to the National Monu- ments Committee (NMC), which is tasked with ensur- ing that monuments of prime ministers are given appropriate slots in the rebuilt square. Spokespersons from the Of- fice of the Prime Minister could not be contacted yesterday, a public holiday. The €1.6 million embellish- ment works at Castille Square will be completed by the end of October, just before the Com- monwealth Heads of Govern- ment Meeting (CHOGM) in November. The plan includes the pedes- trianisation of the Square and the creation of an open space. The area in which these monu- ments will be relocated remains at proposal stage. The proposal to build a mon- ument for Muscat is unique in and of itself, since it is highly unusual for a leader to be com- memorated with a statue in his lifetime. It remains to be seen how both the general public and the political sphere will re- act to this revelation. PN's foundations are honesty and truth – Busuttil MATTHEW VELLA OPPOSITION leader Simon Busuttil said his leadership would be marked by a persistence to pursue the path of righteousness and honesty, in an address on Net TV at a fund-raiser by the Nationalist Party. Reacting to a question from inter- viewer and former MEP candidate Norman Vella, Busuttil said the scandals making headlines should not be used for electoral purposes. "Something that concerns me is that people view politicians and politics as 'dirty'… I am sorry that it's the prime minister's way of do- ing politics that is tarnishing poli- tics, in the way that he keeps certain matters under wraps and reveals them when an election is upon us. If you are a prime minister, you report these matters," Busuttil said. The PN is currently under pres- sure by allegations from a Gozitan whistleblower who carried out con- struction works for constituents at the behest of civil servant Anthony Debono, the husband of former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono. Anthony Debono is said to have used the ministerial budget to pay for the works done for constituents. The matter is being investigated by the police. "I think the public is capable of choosing between what is right and wrong. The strong foundations I want to build this party on are hon- esty and truth – which means clean politics. And when scandals affect my party, I have to show that I am ready to take tough decisions, to show that we are capable of a new way of doing politics," Busuttil said, without referring to his having sus- pended former ministers Michael Falzon and Ninu Zammit for keep- ing undeclared money in Swiss bank accounts. "Hard though it may be, I am still determined to stay on this path," Busuttil said. He also said that the PN's cam- paign for the 11 April local elections remains entirely focussed on the lo- cal councils facing their date with the electorate this year. "Our campaign has been inside these localities, carrying out many door-to-door visits, in the party clubs, to go to people directly. "We've had good feedback. Labour voters and Nationalist voters who switched to Labour have opened their doors to the PN. I am trying to rebuild the PN by reaching out to these voters, and ask them how we can build the bridge anew and learn from the mistakes we made," the PN leader said. But Busuttil also said he was realis- tic about the PN making substantial inroads in an election that Joseph Muscat's Labour could be poised to win, as the prime minister retains remarkable trust ratings since being voted into power two years ago. "I am realistic. I know I started two years ago with 36,000 votes under. These are not votes that one wins back overnight. When you consider these elections are for councils most of which already have Labour majorities, I don't expect to reverse these results. Despite start- ing off on this campaign with this disadvantage, we are working with determination," Busuttil said. He said that the Opposition had made a difference in these two years when Labour had threatened to scuttle local council elections for 2015 by postponing them to the next round of council elections so that all 65 localities would have one major election. "The Labour government wanted to remove these elections, but they had to be retained because we in- sisted on keeping them. Democ- racy is a principle one does not play around with. Our expectations are to show voters that we are here, that the PN is back in business," Busut- til said. He said one of the PN's greatest challenges while in Opposition was that voters often turned to the party in government in times of need. "I want the Opposition to make the difference, even in people's lives. Take the local council elections: had we not piled on the pressure, these elections would not even be taking place. "Take fuel prices – it was thanks to our pressure that fuel prices were reduced, when we said that it was not possible that the price of crude oil had decreased without fuel prices being reduced. Take the scandal that saw Manuel Mallia be- ing dismissed – it was [the PN] who revealed this case. "And we made the difference be- cause a government with a nine-seat majority sacked one of its own min- isters," Busuttil said. The PN leader toasted his party's success in rebuilding itself and em- barking on a process to present it- self as an alternative to the Muscat administration. "The PN general conference was one of the changes the PN brought in, and its aim was to open up to new people and a part of society that we were not reaching out to. Once we opened the door, these people came through, giving us their ideas and inf luencing us. Several of these peo- ple who came to Idea Malta eventu- ally decided to become candidates for these elections." PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD Simon Busuttil: "I think the public is capable of choosing between right and wrong" Download the MaltaToday App now