Come June 8 and the country goes to the polls to elect its members of the European Parliament and local councils.

For this election, the Labour Party has adopted a populist campaign built on dirty tactics and sheer deceit. A classic example is the electoral fraud devised by Labour which consisted of the switching of the actual home address of 99 voters to an empty housing block in Siġġiewi, a location where Labour felt the need to increase its supporting voters to be able to maintain its majority representation on the local council.

After the court ordered a revocation of the change in address of the voters concerned, out came Prime Minister Robert Abela who, instead of offering an apology, as one would have expected him to do, ardently defended this abuse of power of incumbency and shamelessly accused the Nationalist Party of persecuting the individuals concerned.

Similarly, Abela bluntly accused the PN of setting a trap for those gathering in Valletta in support of his disgraced predecessor, Joseph Muscat on the date of his arraignment in court. Abela’s intention was that of dissuading Labourites from attending but, knowing quite well that Muscat still enjoys massive support among Labour voters, he hoped that, by placing the blame on the opposition, he could avoid a backlash against him.

Abela lacks the moral authority to let justice take its normal course where Muscat is concerned. He has been walking on a tightrope ever since his devil’s pact with Muscat and his wife, to whom he owes his party leadership, and whose support enabled him to beat Chris Fearne, who was the favourite.

To protect Muscat, Abela has undermined the independence of the judiciary by resorting to vehement unwarranted attacks against its members whenever their decisions did not go down well with Muscat.

He has gone to the extreme of accusing the judiciary of engaging in political terrorism and of intending to destroy the Labour Party.

Abela has attacked the integrity of Magistrate Gabriella Vella by accusing her of being biased in her hospitals’ deal inquiry that has rocked his government. He insisted that she had deliberately timed its conclusion to coincide with the upcoming election so that it would work against his party.

The safety and security of Magistrate Vella have been put in jeopardy by Abela’s repetitive attacks upon her and by his call to supporters to respond to her inquiry at the ballot box.

This, coupled with the publication of her photos by the Labour Party media, goes counter to the spirit of the constitution that guarantees security of tenure to judges and magistrates.

According to a media report, Magistrate Vella received written threats.

Abela’s derogatory comments have attracted widespread condemnation and President Myriam Spiteri Debono herself felt the need to issue a public warning that the judiciary should be allowed to exercise its functions in a serene atmosphere.

Abela is harming the country’s reputation not only by his repeated attacks on the judiciary but also by his decision to retain in key positions individuals whose rectitude has been called into question by the serious criminal charges issued against them as a result of the conclusions of the inquiry.

To protect Joseph Muscat, Robert Abela has undermined the independence of the judiciary- Denis Tanti

The country does not deserve to, once again, go through the hell of being placed on the FATF grey list after having been removed from the list less than two years ago.

While Abela accuses Magistrate Vella of timing the conclusions of her inquiry, he denies that the income tax refund and COLA bonus cheques, as well as the new €500 allowance for families with post-secondary students, were intended to influence voters.

Furthermore, the national electricity billing company ARMS has written to households claiming that, since June 2021, they had been saved from paying an amount of money specified in the letter by the government’s decision to maintain price stability.

Abela also wants us to believe that the government had reached a collective agreement with the teachers’ union, the MUT, just two weeks before the election date, by mere coincidence.

In addition to using its power of incumbency to gain an advantage over its adversaries, the Labour government is pressing hard to discourage the electorate from voting for PN candidates by pushing the false narrative that they are disloyal to their country and have been working against the Maltese people behind their backs.

The truth is that the Nationalist MEPs, without exception, have risen to the challenge after the Labour government hijacked Malta’s key institutions responsible for the proper functioning of democracy that, in turn, led to a collapse of the rule of law in the country.

They have shouldered the tasks of the weakened institutions and acted with integrity and in full respect of the rule of law despite threats of fines, and even imprisonment, made by government exponents to dissuade them from carrying out their duties towards the country and its citizens.

Labour’s attacks have focused mainly on Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, who has honoured our nation by becoming the youngest ever person to occupy such a prestigious position.

Abela has tried to gain political mileage by accusing Metsola of being a warmonger for supporting the strengthening of the EU’s defence pillar. However, he then demonstrated his gross inconsistency by voting in favour of a greater EU defence spending along with the other EU leaders.

Abela’s expressed opinion of Metsola has been rubbished by none other than United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, who has paid tribute to her promotion of humanitarian law, democracy and human rights.   

Denis Tanti is a former assistant director at the health ministry.