Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/595929
www.maltatoday.com.mt wednesday edition wednesday • 4 November 2015 • issue 441 • published every wedNesday aNd suNday €1.00 Newspaper post Joe Cassar resigns Pressure mounts on Falzon Jurgen Balzan ShockwaveS reverber- ated throughout the political landscape yesterday morning when Nationalist MP Joe cas- sar submitted his resignation from parliament, in the wake of accusations that he had ac- cepted gifts from businessman Joe Gaffarena. Turning the tables on the La- bour government, opposition leader Simon Busuttil said he expected Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to call for the resig- nation of land parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon, on whose watch Gaffarena's son, Marco, was granted a contro- versial €1.65 million expro- priation for a valletta prop- erty, now under investigation by the National audit office. cassar's exit, a unique rarity in Maltese politics, not only presented Busuttil with an op- portunity to stand by his prom- ise to offer a brand of "honest politics" but the opposition leader can inject new blood in his worn-out parliamentary group. however, this could prove dif- ficult as cassar's seat could be filled by any one of former MPs, includ- ing former junior min- ister Tony abela, who once de- scribed mi- gration as a "tsunami." cassar's resignation follows that of former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono who resigned from the PN parliamenta- ry group in the wake of Malta- Today's reports on the alleged m i s appropr i a- tion of public funds by her h u s b a n d Tony. She retained her seat in the house. cassar tendered his resigna- tion in letters to PN leader Si- mon Busuttil and Speaker anglu Farrugia, with both letters being released to the media. although it was proven that works in 2011 on the former health minister's Dingli house had been paid by property entereprenuer Joe Gaffarena, and should have been proba- bly declared, cassar in- sisted that he was the victim of "character assassina- tion". "If politics has been reduced to these levels, I'm not ready to be part of it. I entered politics to help others, not to let others assassinate my character," cassar, a psychia- trist by profession, said. 1 cassar also denied having done anything wrong. Malta- Today broke the news on Sun- day that as minister he had not declared over €8,000 in house works paid for by donor Joe Gaffarena in 2011. "I categorically deny having committed anything wrong or illegal, but I am taking this step so that I am not used as an ex- cuse for any damage made to you or the PN," he told Busuttil. "I respect you and the party too much to allow this to happen." cassar thanked Busuttil for "believing in [his] integrity" during these days. he went on to say that al- though he would be departing the world of politics, he would continue to defend his name against any accusations, using legal means if necessary. he also asked that his privacy and that of his family be respected going forward. Page 5 Joe Cassar (left) resigned from parliament over links with businessman Joe Gaffarena. Will junior minister Michael Falzon (right) follow suit? Government, police commissioner coy on inquiry into MFA, Beckenbauer $250k World Cup 2006 contract Tim DiaCono The government and the police have refused to commit into launch- ing an investigation into a contro- versial contract that saw the Malta Football association earn $250,000 in exchange for the national team to play a friendly against Bayern Mu- nich. Parliamentary secretary for sport chris agius admitted with Mal- taToday that he hasn't even followed the case since the Daily Mail report- ed last week that the contract was signed following a "secret meeting" between then MFa president Joe Mifsud and German football legend Franz Beckenbauer in June 2000. at the time, Mifsud held a seat on FIFa's executive committee that eventually awarded the 2006 world cup to Germany. Beckenbauer was Bayern Munich president, as well as the head of the organising commit- tee that spearheaded the German bid. Malta voted for Germany to host the 2006 tournament, in a vote that Germany marginally won by 12-11 against South africa, and the Daily Mail suggested that Beckenbauer was "complicit in influencing the votes of FIFa's executive commit- tee". however, agius told MaltaToday that it "is still premature" for the government to launch an inquiry into the case. "I think that the MFa should launch an inquiry into it," he said. when informed about the details of the case and the fact that they have appeared in the foreign press, agius pledged to update himself on the case. "The government could launch one depending on further developments," he said. German football was shaken to the core following revelations that Germany's world cup bidding committee had established a €6.7 million slush fund to secure votes for their bid. Page 4 Franz Beckenbauer