It is irresponsible of the prime minister to insist that the COVID-19 vaccine on its own is the solution to the pandemic, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.

“The prime minister is giving us hope that the vaccine on its own will be the solution... however, we have a civic duty to follow the health authorities’ guidelines.

“The vaccine on its own will not be the solution and a prime minister who keeps saying so is irresponsible. Yes, the vaccine is a solution, however, only if we all do our part. If I take the vaccine and don’t follow the guidelines, I could harm myself and others. It is the responsibility of all of us to take care of each other,” he warned. 

Prime Minister Robert Abela recently set May as the target for Malta to return to business as usual, where COVID-19 will be spoken about “as a thing of the past”.

Addressing a political activity, he had said that January would be the starting point for this recovery as Malta begins to receive the vaccine for the pandemic.

Addressing party supporters on the PN’s media on Sunday, Grech said that while it was a good thing that several were getting along with their lives there are still people who are suffering.

We need to remain vigilant and look out not only for our own wellbeing but also that of the most vulnerable among us, he said.

He urged people to keep in touch with others, noting that the country was just keeping afloat when faced by economic challenges. He warned Malta could go underwater in the coming months and people needed to look out for each other.

He also urged people to come together and “save” the country in 2021, after Malta suffered damage to its reputation following actions taken by a Labour government: “we cannot leave it up to labour, the party that led us to the situation we are in, to solve the issue”.

He promised that in the new year the PN will not hide behind the pandemic to avoid meeting people and will be creating structures to remain in touch. 

Asked about his first weeks as party leader – approaching the first 100 days in the new role – Grech said the party's biggest achievement was the PN’s show of unity.

To this effect, the party’s adversaries were continuously trying to drive a wedge among the party members, to no avail, he added.

'How can I be against the divorce law?'

Grech said this had also been the case when it comes to the proposed changes to the divorce law.  

Earlier this week the government published a bill that would see the time couples must live apart to qualify for divorce slashed to six months if the request is joint and to one year if it is made by one of the parties.

If backed by parliament, it will end the minimum period of four years that had been included in the original divorce law introduced following a referendum on the subject. 

“This is one of the ways in which Abela thought he would be able to drive a wedge among MPs. This is how shallow he is. When I had expressed opposition against the divorce law, I had been against the way it had been drawn up… in fact [the administration] has now realised it needed to be amended.

"How can I be against the divorce law if I have a finger on the people’s pulse,” he asked.

Grech noted that he has already voiced concern about the need to amend the period of time couples must live apart to qualify for a divorce.

Abela, he added, had initially wanted to completely remove this period of time, but realised he could not, so he decreased it.

“However, this is not enough. There are other things that need to be changed. The opposition is not shallow and will be discussing the bill internally, including the way that maintenance is calculated.

“We cannot continue calculating maintenance ad hoc - on the spot... There are people who do not manage to keep up with the maintenance imposed on them or could afford higher maintenance, while the circumstances could also change for others with time.

"We especially need to address delays, because the time lost between parents and their children can never be brought back.”

Grech called on the prime minister to be “mature" and "ensure a reform that would benefit families”, and not just personal interests that include passing a law as soon as possible.