Former PN president Mark Anthony Sammut urged Labour MPs to “stick with their conscience” and vote against Keith Schembri in an upcoming parliamentary vote calling for his dismissal.

“You have a constitutional duty to scrutinise the government, you are representatives of the public and not delegates of your party,” Sammut told an anti-corruption protest in Valletta tonight. “It is your duty to keep the government in check. Your oath of loyalty was to the Maltese republic and its people and not to the leader.”

Sammut was giving his first notable public appearance since spearheading an internal confidence vote in PN leader Adrian Delia last summer, which ultimately failed. Referring to his role in this movement, he told Labour MPs that he knows full well how hard it is to go against the party line.

“I know that it is hard and uncomfortable to go with your conscience and take a stand against your own colleagues,” he said. “However, if you allow yourself to be led by a sense of duty, you will do it and you will continue working in the same [political] group afterwards.”

“It’s hard, but I assure you that no honoraria, no salary and no position in this world can hold a candle to the clean conscience you feel once you’ve done your duty.”

What do you make of tonight’s protest?

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