Cardona’s alleged visit an embarrassment for Malta, Germany and the EU - PN
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has accused Minister Chris Cardona of having embarrassed not only Malta, but also Germany and the European Union with his alleged escapades at an FKK club in Germany.
Dr Cardona is currently at the centre of controversy after it was alleged that he paid a visit to an FKK club in Germany, along with a ministry consultant, where he engaged the services of a prostitute while on official government business.
The scandal was revealed by journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the Opposition and its media have since had a field day with the allegations, which the minister vociferously denies.
Speaking at a party activity yesterday morning in Fgura, Dr Busuttil laid into Dr Cardona. He observed how the minister also serves as the Labour Party’s Deputy Leader for Party Affairs, and questioned whether that meant party as in the Labour Party or party as in ‘partying’.
Referring to the recent controversy in which the minister was found to have spent hundreds of euros on his mini-bar in a Dubai hotel room, Dr Busuttil said the minister had spent the equivalent of a minimum wage. Dr Cardona had eventually pledged to repay the expense, which had been charged to the State.
Dr Busuttil questioned how many times Dr Cardona had travelled as minister and what kind of other entertainment expenses he had incurred during those travels when on official government business.
Dr Cardona, Dr Busuttil said, was not any old person, nor was he just an MP “like me”. He observed that Dr Cardona is more than that; he is a minister and he is the Prime Minister’s No. 2 in the Labour party.
Dr Busuttil remarked, “Chris Cardona has no shame. Germany invited him to speak at a conference, where he was representing the European Union since Malta holds the Presidency of the EU. As such he has embarrassed Malta, Germany and the EU, and the government acts as though nothing has happened.”
Dr Busuttil also referred to the government’s revamped Code of Ethics, which he described as a far weaker version of its predecessor. But even so, Dr Busuttil said, Cardona had been in violation of the Code [if the allegations against him are proven to be true]. That Code, Dr Busuttil said, still held ministers to the highest levels of comportment, as well as the highest standards of integrity, honesty, transparency, accountability and sense of justice.
“Is there even one of these principles that Cardona has respected? The Code of Ethics makes it clear that the Prime Minister should take action and the question is why Joseph Muscat has done nothing. That Cardona has no standards we know, now what remains to be seen is what Joseph Muscat’s standards are. If he does nothing even about this most recent scandal, it would mean he has lost all control of his ministers, his government and lost all sense of morals. This truly is a brothel of a government.”
The country, he said, has lost all sense of normality. It wakes up to a new scandal practically every day.
Dr Busuttil added, “I will make a pledge here and now: not under my watch. I will not let these things happen. I will bring the country back to normality with a clean government and serious government. I am determined to give back what the people want: normality and a normal government.”
Opposition leader ‘cut off’ from the people - Labour
In reaction, the Labour Party said that after a week like this, in which Malta was at the centre of Europe and results were seen on migration, as well as government announcing the largest local investment in Maltese history, “for the Opposition leader to come and say that the summit was an embarrassment for Malta, shows how cut off he is from what people are really feeling.”
The PL said that families in the quiet of their own home, in coffee shops, and around the islands know who is close to them. “Joseph Muscat,” the party said, “remains the most trusted leader in Malta.”