Opposition leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday the country could not be tolerant of those who abused public funds while resenting those who carried out legitimate business.
Grech was addressing a political activity in Balzan, where he also heard from tourism expert John Ebejer and Beppe Muscat from the Chamber of SMEs.
They spoke about the impact that the lack of reliable public transport was having on citizens and tourism, and the critical challenges faced by small businesses.
Grech said it was clear that the government had given up on finding solutions for problems like traffic that were impacting people’s quality of life.
Asked what the PN would do differently in order to solve Malta’s traffic problem, Grech replied that the PN had the political will to think up new evidence-based solutions, but more importantly, the freedom to decide to act on them.
This was unlike the government, he said, because Prime Minister Robert Abela was not free to decide and was constantly hampered by those around him who imposed on him.
He added that the fact that people were turning to the PN looking for solutions meant they had given up on the government being able to change things for the better.
Grech said a PN government would give people a clear direction of where it intended to go - something that it already did through its criticism.
He added it was PN's duty to inform people when things were wrong, especially in light of the government’s behaviour.
Abela, he continued, was unable to act, because instead of prioritising public good, he prioritised himself and those around him and was stuck “fighting his own shadow” in constant scandals.
“The government is running on fraud - frodi biss, frodi spiss,,” Grech said.
He made reference to the case of Joseph Baldacchino, the former refugee agency CEO who embezzled public funds, and ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri who were censured by the Standards Commissioner for abusing their power and misspending public funds when they orchestrated a job for Bartolo’s now wife.
“When we say that Camilleri and Bartolo should resign and that the prime minister should sack them if they do not, we are giving a clear direction. I will not tolerate those who abuse public funds,” Grech said.
Maltese families make huge sacrifices to dutifully pay their taxes and misspending it was a moral failure that could not be tolerated, he added.
Moreover, the lax attitude to corruption was festering a growing resentment towards legitimate business, he added.
Most local businesses, he said, were genuine people who made a lot of sacrifices to earn a good living for their families.
Good governance, he said, was similarly not re-inventing the wheel but making good choices for the country’s future.
The PN plans to lower taxes and invest in better public transport, infrastructure, education and connectivity, as well as other sectors. Grech said the country must continue to attract foreign investment, but it had to focus on serious investors rather than people who come here to do what they wanted and then made off with the money.