The Nationalist Party has filed a complaint with the Broadcasting Authority, claiming “imbalance and lack of impartiality” in an interview with opposition leader Bernard Grech during a TVM show.

Grech was interviewed on January 22 by Glen Falzon, a journalist who presents the Friday night programme Insights.

During the interview, the PN leader accused Falzon of asking irrelevant and partisan questions. Over the weekend, Grech accused the national broadcaster of being used as a "partisan" tool in the hands of government. 

In its complaint, the PN said the presenter’s questions and behaviour were "clearly inspired by and based on the partisan political narrative of the Labour Party".

The party felt that the national station acted in "a discriminatory manner" that was prejudiced against the opposition leader. This was seen clearly when one compared the interview to that held on January 15 with the Prime Minister during the same programme, it said.

It was clear, the PN said, that through the way the interviews were carried out, the national station "breached its obligations" to present the subjects for debate in an objective manner and for the presenter to provide precise information.

This was because the presenter treated as fact and asked about partisan stories that were factually incorrect and that had been broadcast by the Labour media.

While the opposition had no difficulty facing tough questions from journalists, it was clear that the presenter used "two weights and two measures" with the prime minister and the opposition leader, with TVM creating imbalance and lack of impartiality against the PN as a result, the party said.