Minister Cardona insists he was in hotel – ‘not worried at all’ about reputation

Economy Minister Chris Cardona insisted “he is not worried at all” about his reputation in the wake of allegations made against him about his whereabouts while on a ministerial visit to Germany.

He also maintained that he was in his hotel room in Essen, following a conference, at the time when it was alleged he was at a brothel called FKK Acapulco in Velbert, Germany. Blogger and The Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia reported that Dr Cardona and his aide, policy coordinator Joe Gerada, visited FKK Acapulco. Dr Cardona has categorically denied the allegations made against him, calling the reportage nothing short of mudslinging.

Pressed by this newsroom as to why he is choosing to wait for court proceedings that are known to take years to conclude, instead of providing evidence now, Dr Cardona said that he believes the courts are the appropriate forum where this could be done.

In addition, he said “allegations made by anybody have to be supported by proof. We will prove in court” that the allegations were unfounded.

When asked by The Malta Independent whether he is concerned that his reputation is on the line, Dr Cardona insisted “he is not worried at all”, adding that he has full faith in Malta’s justice system.

He said that the Prime Minister has offered support to his family and himself, adding that he was not the right person to ask about why Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has not released a statement.

Dr Cardona said that a number of libel cases are being presented in court, and that the allegations are based on lies and malice.

He released a statement earlier in the week saying that he would be filing for libel against Mrs Caruana Galizia, the Nationalist Party and Net News.

In a statement, the Nationalist Party said that Dr Cardona had confirmed that the country’s biggest problem is Joseph Muscat, who is so weak that he has lost all moral authority to lead the government.

Contrary to what the people believe, Joseph Muscat is believing Chris Cardona, in spite of details released on his presence in a German brothel while on official duty.

The worst thing of it all is that Cardona was caught lying, and Muscat chose to believe him.

The real problem of this “brothel government” is that Muscat has lost control, the PN said.