Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina sparked a brouhaha in parliament on Monday afternoon after he accused the entire Labour Party parliamentary group of being “fraudsters”.
The PN MP made the angry accusation in relation to the hospital privatisation deal which a court annulled on fraud-based grounds last week.
A court concluded that Steward Health Care had failed to uphold its end of a deal to take over three state hospitals. Both Steward and the previous concessionaire, Vitals Global Healthcare, had acted “fraudulently”, a judge said.
The court found that changes made to the contract by the government only benefited Vitals, “not the people” and confirmed a conclusion reached by the National Audit Office in 2020 that Vitals should have been disqualified from bidding for the contract.
Steward has said it intends to appeal the decision, which Labour insiders say has reignited tensions between Robert Abela and his predecessor Joseph Muscat, whose government signed off on the deal.
When parliament convened to debate the landmark court decision on Monday, MPs were in a combative mood.
None more so than Aquilina, who fired a broadside at all government MPs.
"All those on the other side [of the House] are fraudsters," he said, leading to an uproar in Parliament which degenerated into a shouting match and required Speaker Anglu Farrugia to intervene in an attempt to restore order.
There was further drama in store when Aquilina reminded parliament that the Steward deal had been annulled thanks to the efforts of his “friend” Adrian Delia.
Aquilina was among a group of PN MPs who campaigned to have Delia removed as party leader in 2019.
Labour MPs roared in mockery, but Aquilina stood by his remark.
"Yes, Adrian Delia is my friend and he can confirm it himself,” he said.
As the sitting resumed after calm was restored, Aquilina said fraud was theft, punishable with imprisonment.
Muscat, who was prime minister when the hospitals' deals were signed, took an oath to say that everything was done according to law, Aquilina thundered. But the court judgment said otherwise.
Aquilina also singled out the current prime minister, Abela, for criticism. The majority of the fraud took place under Abela’s leadership, he said. He is the one who has to shoulder most responsibility.
During his own speech, Abela argued that he was extraneous to the affair, with no deals related to it having been signed since he assumed office and that his government had consistently refused requests by Steward to amend the existing deal.
Aquilina’s “fraudster” charge dismayed Labour MP and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, who said the “character assassination” was uncalled for.
“To criticise the project is one thing. To say that the project was intended with corruption in mind is another. Comments that lead to character assassination are uncalled for and should be avoided,” Attard told parliament.
Opposition MP Claudette Buttigieg pushed back against Attard’s calls for moderation.
“This wasn’t a failed project, because its intention was to defraud,” she told parliament.
Labour MPs had “placed their trust in fraudsters” and in doing so, they betrayed parliament and the Maltese people, she said.
Konrad Mizzi – who as a Labour minister piloted the hospitals deal – was no longer in parliament, she said, but his catchphrase “shame on you” applied to all Labour MPs today.