Air Malta’s downfall is a prime example of how clientelism rules Maltese politics, ADPD chairman Carmel Cacopardo said on Saturday as he slammed both the Labour and Nationalist parties for having treated the airline as a cash cow for decades.

Speaking outside parliament in Valletta, the Green Party leader said there never was the political will for Air Malta to operate without political interference.

“Millions of Euros in ‘aid’ have been squandered which effectively financed the clientelism that has led to Air Malta’s downfall,” Cacopardo said.

Both the current Labour government and Nationalist Party are to blame for this state of affairs, Cacopardo argued.

Labour had pretended that it would be saving the airline – and even pledged to do that in its 2022 electoral manifesto – when all along it was quietly preparing to shut it down, he said. And instead of fixing the airline’s history of clientelism, the Nationalist Party had instead also opted to “milk this cow”.

Air Malta, which has faced financial difficulties for the past decades, is now staring down the barrel of bankruptcy, with the EU expected to refuse a state aid request lodged by the Maltese government two years ago.

ADPD Secretary General Ralph Cassar said both the PL and PN had never batted an eyelid when they had the opportunity to use Air Malta for their own political reasons.

“Air Malta has been plagued by this nepotistic and clientelist political interference since its inception. PLPN have milked Air Malta dry. It was their cash-cow in their respective bids to cling to power. We are all victims of these shameful PLPN practices, because our public funds and taxes have been used to buy votes through the Air Malta ‘cow’,” Cassar said.

Cacopardo concluded that “political clientelism is a direct consequence of a parliament totally dominated by two parties. They have consistently joined forces to resist electoral reform because they know that a pluralist parliament will mean an end to their nepotistic and clientelist politics.”