It is not surprising that the Nationalist Party refuses to submit its audited accounts to the Electoral Commission, especially with a leader like Bernard Grech, whose history of unpaid taxes raises serious questions about his credibility.
The PN’s financial troubles, including mounting debt and the forced sale of its political clubs, are a reflection of a party struggling to manage its own affairs while expecting the public to trust its leadership.
In the run-up to the PN leadership election, when 17 PN MPs, who later described themselves as ‘Blue heroes’, removed democratically-elected leader Adrian Delia to place Grech in his stead, a scandal risked upsetting their political plot.
Grech’s tax issues became public knowledge, revealing a history of ignoring warnings from tax authorities for decades and accumulating substantial unpaid income tax and VAT.
In 2006, the Inland Revenue Department sent Grech a demand for unpaid taxes dating back to 1990. He ignored their warnings until the courts were involved. In 2012, Grech faced another substantial tax bill for unpaid income tax spanning 12 years but he again disregarded official notices until legal action forced him to act. Between 2014 and 2019, he failed to pay nearly €30,000 in VAT.
What changed in 2020? With the PN leadership contest looming, Grech suddenly found the funds to settle his long-overdue tax bills, clearing over €60,000 just days before submitting his nomination. His explanation that his son helped him settle the amount has done little to convince the public.
Prompted by journalists to explain how these funds were made available at such short notice and what was behind his hastened repayment, Grech resorted to unrelated narratives that appeased only himself.
The questions Grech refuses to answer are simple yet crucial: Where did the money come from to pay these debts so suddenly? Did he ever repay this loaned money? If these funds remain unpaid – this was done at what cost?
Why did he ignore multiple warnings and legal notices for nearly 20 years, only acting when his political ambitions were at stake? Is it acceptable that a politician positioning himself as the embodiment of the rule of law actively absconded from paying his dues to the taxpayers?
Would he have continued to evade his obligations had he not contested the PN leadership election? And what does this say about Grech’s moral fortitude?
For a leader who portrays himself as a paragon of ethical standards, his silence on these matters speaks volumes.
This pattern of evasion mirrors the state of the PN itself. With mounting debt and an inability to manage its finances, how can the PN credibly present itself as a party fit to lead the country? Its refusal to submit audited accounts to the Electoral Commission is yet another example of its lack of transparency and accountability.
This is the same cash-strapped party that tried to muzzle the government from communicating the budget measures on the public broadcaster – but then quickly pockets the advertising money when the airing happens on its own TV station.
Grech’s personal financial history and the PN’s current state are not isolated incidents but are symptomatic of a deeper issue: a refusal to take responsibility. Malta deserves leaders who lead by example, not individuals or parties who act only when it suits their political interests.
That is why in each and every survey Prime Minister Robert Abela comes out on top when the public is asked to choose the leader they trust at the helm of country and economy. And if the PN manifesto will be based on the gross incompetence exhibited in the unpublished PN pre-budget document then things are set to become worse before they get any better for the party in opposition.
No megalomania and heightened protest speeches trying to depict Grech as a waving cartoon superhero will manage to hide the fact that the self-declared prime-minister-in-waiting is hiding the truth about a €60,000 tax bill that he claims was paid by his son. People deserve to know the truth if they are to ever start taking him seriously.
Alex Muscat is a Labour MP.