Every request for a presidential pardon would be handled with the utmost responsibility in the national interest, the prime minister said on Wednesday, while questioning why the Opposition seemed to have an enthusiasm for them.
Robert Abela was referring to a second request for a pardon made by Vince Muscat, who has already admitted his involvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, as well as pardon requests by brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, who are awaiting trial for the murder.
Speaking in parliament, Abela accused Opposition leader Bernard Grech of being "cheap and immature" when he reportedly said on Sunday that he had no doubt there was another mastermind in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
"If that was the case, he should do his duty, go to the Commissioner of Police and tell him what he knows," Abela said.
He also said Grech had promised a pardon to Yorgen Fenech - the alleged mastermind in the murder of Caruana Galizia. Grech had said that he would consider a pardon for Fenech.
Had Grech spoken to the police commissioner, the attorney general or the Caruana Galizia family, Abela asked.
Through his remarks, Abela said, Grech had in effect invited...
