Prime Minister should not serve as the police commission’s spokesman – Delia

The Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, should not serve as a spokesman for the Commissioner of Police, nor should he take the role of the Attorney General and Head of the Armed Forces, Opposition Leader Adrian Delia said yesterday in a radio interview.

The separation of powers is established in the Constitution, but what the Prime Minister is doing shows that the lines are blurred. It is not acceptable for the PM to take on the role of others whose duties are constitutionally established, as this hinders the work that these institutions should be carrying out, Delia said on the PN radio station.

In recent days, the Prime Minister has given daily updates on the police investigation, following the arrest of a “middleman” who said he had information related to the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and of Yorgen Fenech, a businessman who was arrested a day after the PM spoke of a presidential pardon that could be offered to the middleman if the evidence he provided stands up in court.

Delia said that he had asked for a meeting with the President of the Republic – which was granted – for him as Opposition Leader to officially express his concern about the unfolding events which, according to him, were a threat to the country’s democratic process.

The PM has chosen to act as the spokesman for the police, has said that he had given advice to the Armed Forces, and is also negotiating a presidential pardon. There are other institutions that should be responsible for this, said Delia.

Muscat has also said that he has been waiting for two years to speak on matters that he has held close to his chest. If the PM had such information in his possession, why did he not speak up, and should this information have been in his possession in the first place, Delia asked.

The PM likes to say that anyone who does not fight against corruption is corrupt. “I add something else. Anyone who is corrupt cannot fight corruption,” Delia said.

He referred to the withdrawal by OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri of a libel case he had instituted, saying that this had provided the PM with a golden chance to dismiss his right-hand man. But Schembri returned to Castille minutes after dropping the libel case, and the PM was ready to defend him again, in spite of Schembri being unwilling to testify in court in order to avoid incriminating himself, said Delia.

The PN leader added that Muscat had been strict with Manwel Mallia and Michael Falzon, who were forced to resign in the past legislature for wrongful situations which pale in comparison to what Schembri and Minister Konrad Mizzi are involved in. Yet it is clear that Muscat is being held hostage because Mizzi and Schembri are stronger than him, he said.

Delia added that he knew there were Labour exponents who were disgusted by what is happening, and he urged them to come forward and also express their disdain.