Robert Abela has refused to weigh in on whether his predecessor Joseph Muscat did more harm than good to the Labour Party.

Fielding questions about the ex-prime minister during a Lovin Malta interview, Abela said: “You are asking about the past, I am looking towards the future. The Labour Party has been led by Robert Abela for the past four years”.

Pressed further about the ex-prime minister, Abela questioned the “fixation” interviewers have with asking him about Muscat.

“People want to hear about the future. Joseph Muscat had seven years in government, he gave his contribution. Now they have trusted me to give my contribution.” 

Muscat resigned in January 2020 in the wake of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder probe, paving the way for Abela to become prime minister. 

Abela indicated that former leaders should exit the political scene to give space to their successors.

“I will disappear from the political scene once my time is up,” he vowed.

He refused to say whether Muscat should follow this advice.

“The worst mistake you can make is to try to turn back the clock. That’s how I see it. That is why it is important for politicians to have a profession to fall back on, so they are not dependent on politics,” Abela continued.

Muscat warned he will be more vocal ever since the police searched his home in January 2022 as part of the Vitals corruption probe that culminated in criminal charges being filed against the ex-prime minister in April.

He even teased running for the European Parliament elections prior to the criminal charges. At the time, Abela refused to shut down the possibility of Muscat running on the Labour ticket. 

Jason Micallef, who is widely viewed as a proxy for Muscat, has thrown his hat in the ring for the role of Labour deputy leader.

Abela used the same analogy about "turning back the clock" when asked about Micallef's bid. 

‘I apologise for power cuts’

Abela apologised for the frequent power cuts that have plagued the island over summer.

He acknowledged that investment in the power distribution network had not kept pace with Malta’s economic growth.

The prime minister insisted the country has enough electricity capacity to cater for demand.

He said the government will not waiver from its targets to get more electric vehicles on the road, despite the increase in demand this will bring.

Abela said the government is exploring the possibility of hooking up a solar farm in Libya with the Maltese grid via an interconnector.

On the stalled €600 million waste-to-energy plant, Abela said the winning bid was €200 million cheaper than its nearest rival.

An appeals court overturned the adjudication process by Wastserv after finding members of the adjudication panel and the contract review board had a conflict of interest.

The winning bid was placed by a joint venture between French company Paprec and local construction company Bonnici Brothers.

Abela acknowledged his “friendship” with some of the Bonnici Brothers’ directors but said this in no way impacted the procurement process.

On the suspension of Edward Scicluna as central bank governor, Abela denied claims that the cabinet was divided over how to handle the issue.

Scicluna is facing charges over the hospitals' privatisation scandal, but pushed back as pressure from the prime minister to resign.

A compromise was reached whereby Scicluna was “suspended” on half pay for the remainder of his term as governor.

Abela appealed for the courts to handle the Vitals case “efficiently”.