Busuttil’s reaction
In his initial reaction, Busuttil said the PM’s call for his resignation was “totally ridiculous,” insisting that it had been his duty, as Opposition Leader, to react to serious accusations against the PM and his wife.
After Delia’s press conference, Busuttil come out out guns blazing against his own party leader. Busuttil said he had told Delia that he saw no reason why he should resign.
“Delia took this decision without first seeing he full report, which has not yet been published. Furthermore, Delia wants to remove from the party whilst at the same time expecting me to continue working on the inquiries against Mizzi and Schembri. This is a great contradiction,” Busuttil said.
The former PN leader said that in a democracy an Opposition’s main duty was to speak on serious allegations, more so when these affected the Prime Minister directly, and especially when Mizzi and Schembri had already been caught with secret companies. Worse still, all this was happening in the wake of a journalist’s murder and the arrest,
In a tweet, Maria Efimova, the Pilatus Bank whistleblower, said she stood by her allegations.
“Everybody knows where I am – in Greece, you are welcome to visit. I stand for what I’ve said, despite from the inquiry outcome. Every intelligent person, educated in finance & corporate field will easily figure out who is right and who is wrong.” in the US, of the chairman of Pilatus Bank.
Busuttil said he was proud to be fighting for justice, even if he is the last one doing so.
“On his part, Adrian Delia has sided with Joseph Muscat instead of strengthening the PN in the fight against corruption. Now we have come to an absurd level where the PL is congratulating Adrian Delia,” Busuttil said, referring to an earlier statement by the Labour Party.
“The PN should remain united in its fight against corruption. I appeal to Dr Delia to not allow Joseph Muscat to use him. Neither should he use this situation to try and get rid of me.”
Later, when it emerged that a meeting of the PN’s administrative committee was being held, Busuttil said he was willing to speak before its members, adding that the “short notice” would not deter him.
After a three-hour meeting, the committee expressed its full backing towards Delia, while urging Busuttil to step down.
Reacting after the meeting, Busuttil stood his ground, saying his position had already been made public and remained unchanged.
“I will keep fighting for justice, even without the backing of Adrian Delia,” he said in a Facebook post.