Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/651042
THREE years have passed since the Labour Party was elected to power and, according to opposition leader Simon Busuttil, the past three years were years of "corruption" and "de- ceit" led by "an incompetent gov- ernment". "From the latest shocking scandal involving Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri to the Gaffarena scandal and the public transport fiasco… the Maltese citizens feel angry, dis- appointed and betrayed but are also tired of all these scandals," Busuttil said. Standing beside parliament with PN officials, members of parliament and candidates for the next election sitting behind him, Busuttil said the PN was showing it was an alterna- tive government. "I am disappointed, however, that because of all these scandals, people are losing trust in all of the political class. People can't give up on us poli- ticians. Our track record was clear: whenever decisions were required from me, I took them." He said that the opposition had offered not only criticism but also solid alternatives. "It's high time to clean politics again," Busuttil said. The opposition leader said that working on a strong economy was not enough, albeit arguing that the government's economic success was thanks to "a solid foundation" left behind by the previous Nationalist administration. Without revealing what he's plan- ning to do, Busuttil insisted that if the Prime Minister fails to dismiss Mizzi and Schembri, he would launch other "initiatives". "The ball is in the Prime Minis- ter's court. Thousands of citizens on Sunday descended on Valletta to protest against scandals, corruption and dirt. What will the Prime Min- ister's response be? "If Muscat doesn't get rid of Schembri and Mizzi, we will take action." The PN leader said he would not say anything as yet, but he would not exclude anything. "This is a huge and shocking scan- dal due to the individuals involved," he said, referring to Mizzi and Schembri. WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 Newspaper post WEDNESDAY • 9 MARCH 2016 • ISSUE 459 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY EDITORIAL PAGE 9 PN planning 'further initiatives' if Muscat doesn't dismiss Mizzi, Schembri Giving his assessment of Labour's three years in government, PN leader Simon Busuttil hits out at 'an incompetent government riddled with corruption' PAGE 4 Muscat stands firmly by his men MIRIAM DALLI PRIME Minister Joseph Mus- cat is standing firmly by his deputy leader and energy min- ister Konrad Mizzi, and chief of staff Keith Schembri, in a swirl of rising insistence by the Opposition for their dismissal. The two are at the centre of the controversy revolving around offshore trusts and companies in Panama, a mat- ter upon which the Opposition is insisting that responsibility must be shouldered. Muscat is however stand- ing by his two closest allies, instead turning the tables onto Simon Busuttil and the president of the PN's executive council, Ann Fenech. "Busuttil should be keeping an eye on Ann Fenech," Mus- cat retorted, when questioned by MaltaToday. Ann Fenech comes into the picture because Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca – notorious for doing the bid- ding of nefarious oligarchs the world over – has been employed as a choice firm for the creation of offshore compa- nies by more than one Maltese legal and financial ser- vices firm. One such firm was Fenlex Cor- porate Services Ltd, the legal firm whose managing partner is Fenech. Fenech said that in 2003, Fenlex had provided its professional services to a client in order to register a company in Panama. "Fenlex does not offer regis- tration of companies any long- er," she insisted. Busuttil himself has defended Fenech, arguing that she was neither a minister nor did she own companies in Panama. With the Labour Party counting three years since it was elected to power, Muscat has admitted the government needed to understand those who felt disappointed by recent developments. He also said that the government needed to be "humble enough to under- stand when we could have done things differently". "We need to continue show- ing that we are able to listen, to understand and to change when we are wrong," Muscat told MaltaToday outside par- liament. "We should be deliver- ing our message to the people better, or change when things could have been done better." In the coming days, he added, he will con- tinue explain- ing the results achieved over the past three years, espe- cially in the e c o n o m i c sector. "We are ca- pable of chang- ing and updating our methods," a resolute Muscat said.