Busuttil's term as Leader of the PN and of the Opposition was characterised by a his choice to champion the rule of law and the fight against corruption in Malta. He led the Opposition charge against the Labour Government led by Joseph Muscat following the revelations made by Daphne Caruana Galizia and PanamaPapers in February and April 2016 respectively. In April 2017, he published a leaked report that implicated the Chief of Staff in money laundering activities linked to Malta's golden passport scheme. The following month, in May 2017, Busuttil published yet another leaked report and presented evidence of alleged illegal transfers to the tune of €650,000 paid by Keith Schembri to the former Managing Director of The Times of Malta, Adrian Hillman. The revelations increased pressure on the Labour Government and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and eventually led to an early election being called on 1 May 2017. In reaction, Busuttil said that people faced a stark choice between Joseph Muscat's interests and Malta's interest and appealed to voters to 'Vote for Malta'. He claimed that the elections were a matter of trust, not just proposals. He claimed that Muscat called the snap election to evade justice. Busuttil led the General Election campaign based on a platform of the fight against corruption and the importance of Rule of Law.