Bernard Grech has publicly refused to weigh in on his leadership prospects after next year’s European Parliament elections.
The elections will be the Nationalist Party’s first major test after its latest drubbing in the March 2022 general election.
In an interview on radio station 103 – Malta’s heart, the PN leader on Saturday repeatedly refused to state whether he will stay on after next year’s EP vote.
Speculation has been mounting that European Parliament president Roberta Metsola will swoop in on the leadership, particularly if the PN fails to win a third seat.
Asked if the election could be a watershed moment for his leadership, Grech said: “I do not want to speculate, as I am concentrating on making a difference now”.
Grech said that just last week, he had a “long meeting” with Metsola.
“Roberta is a very capable person, I want her to continue advancing in her career”.
Grech deflected further questions on his leadership future by firing off a list of magisterial inquiries into high-level government corruption that have yet to be concluded, including into probes into the Panama Papers, 17 Black and Montenegro scandals.
He reiterated that his focus is pushing for results and action now, rather than worrying about what “points” he can score in the future.
Cutajar – Fenech chats
On the infamous leaked Whatsapp chats between Rosianne Cutajar and 17 Black owner Yorgen Fenech, Grech said they clearly showed the MP was far too close to someone under investigation.
While saying he does not care about the “intimate” part of the chats, he said those parts also give insight into what was happening between a Labour MP and someone already outed for suspected corruption.
“I do not care about the [intimate] details, but at the end of the day, we are public persons. We cannot attack, then when someone provides the evidence, play the victim card”.
Author Mark Camilleri is facing contempt of court charges after publishing the chats in response to a libel suit by Cutajar, in which she sought to deny claims of having an inappropriate relationship with Fenech.
Grech said the chats showed how Fenech knew all about the inner workings of government, so much so that Cutajar solicited information from him about it.
He also slammed Cutajar for wanting to join her other Labour colleagues in “pigging out” on public jobs, rather than trying to put a stop to the behaviour.
The chats outed how Cutajar felt entitled to an ITS consultancy job - which was not declared to parliament- seeing how “everyone else” was pigging out on such jobs.
Grech noted that at the time, Prime Minister Robert Abela was a cabinet member who also benefitted from multiple government contracts.
A coalition with Repubblika?
Grech also fielded questions on whether he had plans to form a broad coalition with NGOs and parties like Repubblika and ADPD.
The PN leader said he tried to keep “good but distant relationships” with a number of such parties and NGOs.
Grech said he will do whatever it takes to get Malta out of the “mafioso hole” it has found itself in, thanks to those who have hijacked the Labour Party for their own financial benefit.
He said Abela describing himself as a socialist is the “biggest lie” ever, as his actions had clearly showed otherwise.
On his relationship with his predecessor Adrian Delia, Grech said he was always convinced of Delia’s intelligence and litigation skills.
He acknowledged that there was obviously “pain” felt in the way Delia was ousted from the PN leadership in 2020.
Grech also said that while there are still a number of people who were hurt by this, he had gone on to build a strong relationship with Delia.
Both he and Delia have in recent weeks addressed PN protests against the “fraudulent” Vitals/Steward hospital deal, after the court annulled the contract following litigation by Delia.