Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/664438
Newspaper post SUNDAY • 10 APRIL 2016 • ISSUE 857 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY maltatoday SUNDAY • 10 APRIL 2016 • ISSUE 857 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Animal rights abuses PM decided over Mizzi's fate but will not make an announcement today PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat will face his party delegates today in the eye of his most serious storm in government. He is not expected to announce any resignation decisions for either embat- tled Minister Konrad Mizzi or chief of staff Keith Schembri, but he has privately decided what his next steps will be after the finalisation of the audit reports being carried out by the Inland Revenue depart- ment on Mizzi. The Prime Minister will also make it clear that he will not be swayed by poll- sters, and hysterics and protests but by ra- tionality and reason. Muscat, who is also himself being asked to resign by Simon Busuttil, will conclude the Labour party general conference, which ostensibly wel- comed Konrad Mizzi as the new party deputy leader. Muscat is under immense pressure to react to public outrage over the Panama accounts, but he is unwilling to part with his traditional approach to a crisis and is willing to wait for the conclusions of the audit report. He will tell his audience that he considers the situation as very preoc- cupying. In spite of a buoyant economy he has been plagued with crisis situations from the start and has already had to remove two ministers, Manwel Mallia from Home Affairs and Michael Falzon from Lands parliamentary secretary, and has had to face the departure of Marlene Far- rugia as Labour MP. The Panama Papers have been the great- est threat ever to his government, with the accusations of impropriety and allega- tions of corruption and lack of transpar- ency hitting at the heart of his adminis- tration, but there has been no evidence to back up the corruption allegations. His chief of staff and his super minister Mizzi are at the centre of the allegations but on an international and European level other politicians are also under the spotlight and they include the British and Icelan- dic Prime Ministers and Spanish EU Commissioner. Moira Delia organises animal rights protest "A country is judged by how it treats animals" PAGE 3 Kick-starting a movement Persistent patriots get political 16 Marlene Farrugia on the 'third way' "I believe we can make it work" 14 15 Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has taken his time, but will announce his decision soon, here seen with Konrad Mizzi (second left), PL deputy president Louis Gatt (left) and PL president Daniel Micallef, on Thursday Chamber warns Busuttil not to call general strike OPPOSITION leader Simon Busuttil has told the Chamber of Commerce that he has no intention of calling a national strike. Busuttil was warned that any initiative to organise such a strike action would cause irrepa- rable damage to the economy. This was confirmed by the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Anton Borg, who spoke to MaltaToday. When contacted, Borg con- firmed that he had reacted to a rumour that the Nationalist Party was considering a general strike. He said that he then called for a meeting with Busuttil. "I told him that a protest is one thing but a general strike would be unacceptable for the Chamber, as it would harm the economy." Borg told MaltaToday that Busuttil assured him that a gen- eral strike was not on the cards. The PN is riding on a high in the wake of a seven-week cri- sis and after the Panama Papers were released last Sunday, reconfirming the existence of accounts for Minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri. Busuttil, who will be leading a second national protest in Valletta this afternoon on the matter, is expected to put more pressure on Joseph Muscat, and is calling on the 41-year-old Prime Minister to resign. Busuttil has even brushed aside questions put to him about the resignations of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, saying that they are now 'irrelevant' and what counts now is for Mus- cat to resign. Reporting: Tim Diacono and Saviour Balzan Etihad talks still on the cards TALKS with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways are still ongoing, according to a senior government spokesman who was talking to MaltaToday. Revelations that Eti- had were the favoured partners for Air Malta were first reported by MaltaToday in November last year. The spokesman said the discus- sions were centred around some of the strengths of Air Malta, such as the country's location, slots, assets in cargo handling and the value of its skilled staff. The spokesman, on condition of anonymity, said the best brains were being used in the negotia- tions and they included profes- sionals from the local and inter- national market. He also said that some very well respected local legal and audit firms were in- volved. Etihad Airways are seeking to inject equity in the ailing Air Malta – the Middle Eastern airline prides itself in rescuing struggling air- lines. PAGE 3 political 6 YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT Maltese 'patriots' to contest next election "We expect Malta to turn Muslim in 20 years" Anton Borg told PN leader Busuttil that a general strike would harm the economy €1.40