Prime Minister Robert Abela lacks the credibility required to win over European Union allies in Malta’s battle for a fairer EU migration policy, Opposition leader Adrian Delia believes.

Speaking on Net TV, Delia argued that Abela’s current tactics were not working.

“In Europe, you need to win friends through persuasion, not retaliation,” Delia said, adding “but Robert Abela cannot persuade leaders in the EU on this issue, because he lacks credibility”.

Delia was speaking during an interview with Times of Malta journalist Keith Micallef.

Malta is currently caught in a migration impasse with the EU, with migrants held aboard tourist boats in international waters. The government says migrants will not be brought to shore until relocation deals are in place, while the EU says relocation deals can be negotiated once migrants are disembarked.

Delia acknowledged that the migration crisis was not this government’s doing, although he tempered that acknowledgement with some criticism.

“The Labour government opened country’s doors wide open to tens of thousands of foreign workers, so now we are facing overpopulation problems which we cannot keep up with,” he said.

Economic measures

Delia dismissed the suggestion that he had spoken too soon when criticising the government’s pandemic financial aid as “reactive and selective”.

EU economic forecasts issued this week suggest Malta’s economic downturn, while severe, will be less dramatic than that in many other EU member states.

Delia said he was more concerned about having a social safety net to help families on the verge of poverty or unemployment, than forecasts concerning public finances.

“There are clear shortcomings in economic measures,” he said, criticising Economy Minister Silvio Schembri for a lack of “sensitivity” and also a failure to address uncertainty surrounding the economic crisis.

Joseph Muscat

Asked what he made of Robert Abela leaning on his predecessor Joseph Muscat for economic advice, Delia said the question that arose was whether Muscat was still calling the shots.

“It hurts to see Robert Abela turn to Joseph Muscat when one considers why Muscat left,” he said.

Delia argued that international institutions which were scrutinising Malta, such as the Council of Europe and Moneyval, wanted to have a “clear signal” that Malta had turned over a new leaf.

Having Muscat involved was not a good sign of that, he said.

Public prosecutor controversy

The PN leader said he subscribed to the views shared by Justice Shadow Minister Jason Azzopardi who described a lawyer's decision to switch from the Attorney General’s office to the defence team of alleged Daphne Caruana Galizia murder conspirator Yorgen Fenech as “a damning indictment to the rotten society Malta has become”.

Delia said this development was of huge concern.

He said regardless of the individual in question, such an act was testament to the overall sentiment in the country that everything is acceptable and that ethical standards were on the decline.

“I would like to be comforted that justice is not only done, but seen to be done,” he said.

Delia added that if things would not change, it would result in further erosion of the country’s institutions.

Sale of ITS land

The PN leader noted that the National Audit Office report into the sale of a large tract of land at the site of the former Institute of Tourism Studies in St George’s Bay, flagged clear irregularities in the tendering process. The concession had been won by db Group.

The PN has not pronounced itself on the findings of the investigation, which had been requested by his predecessor Simon Busuttil.

“In which country does nobody shoulder responsibility when such facts come to light,” he asked, when fielding a question about the matter.

Delia added that the government was adopting a business as usual approach, while more tenders were being issued.

Party situation

The Opposition leader would not commit himself when asked if he felt his position at the helm of the party was much safer at this stage, compared to the start of February when he faced an open rebellion from the parliamentary group and a number of resignations.

Two of his staunchest critics, David Thake and Ivan Bartolo, have since joined the parliamentary group, and the internal unrest in recent weeks seems to have dissipated.

“My interest is to have a strong Opposition which is aspiring to be an alternative government,” he said.

Delia added there was strong sense of unity within the group especially in the wake of the recent reshuffle.

“Every member of the group is being given exposure during the various news conferences and in the coming weeks the party would launch new structures to facilitate policy planning for the post-pandemic period,” he said.

Delia pointed out that party reforms piloted by Louis Galea had been temporarily put on hold due to the pandemic.