Opposition leader Bernard Grech hit out at the prime minister on Sunday for trying to give the impression that no corruption was happening under his watch while the government continued to fund corrupt deals such as those involving the new power station and public hospitals.
Speaking at a political event in Mellieħa, Grech also referred to Robert Abela’s first interview with Times of Malta, in which he was asked about the driving tests corruption case.
Abela had replied that he could only answer for what happened from January 2020 onwards, when he became prime minister.
“Abela said that under his watch there is no corruption, yet under his watch, he is financing corruption,” Grech said as party supporters cheered.
“He is financing corruption, look at Vitals, Steward, Electrogas, they receive millions, and yet you get nothing.”
Grech also referred to Abela’s speech during Parliament’s Budget debate last week and said the prime minister had shown he was unaware of the hardship the people were suffering.
“He is cut off from reality, he is unaware of traffic congestion and the destruction of our environment."
He said the prime minister should have spoken about how his government would tackle traffic congestion or how the government was working to give back the three privatised hospitals to the people.
Instead, the government was spending millions of taxpayers' money to fuel the party's propaganda seeking to give the impression of wealth creation.
Culture minister must resign
Moving on, Grech insisted that Culture Minister Owen Bonnici must assume political responsibility and resign, following the sexual harassment scandal within the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO).
Unless Bonnici resigned, the prime minister should remove him, he said.
“All forms of abuse worry me because it means someone in authority is using their power to subject another person to abuse,” he said. “But Bonnici was only worried about this scandal becoming public.”
The PN had already called for Bonnici's resignation on Saturday, following after the arraignment of MPO CEO Sigmund Mifsud who was accused of the attempted tampering of evidence after he allegedly instructed employees to keep quiet about a sexual harassment scandal.
Grech said Bonnici knew of the case before the media reported it, but he failed to act on the claims.
“Why didn’t Bonnici go to the police with the allegations? Why did he phone a particular newsroom to control the story,” he asked.
Justice minister cannot remain silent on Pilatus Bank scandal
Grech also accused Justice Minister Jonathan Attard of silence on the Attorney General’s decisions on the Pilatus Bank case.
He was referring to a Malta Today report that at least two former Pilatus Bank officials will not be prosecuted after Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg issued a nolle prosequi, seeking their testimony instead of prosecution.
“The Justice Minister cannot remain silent about the bad decisions the Attorney general took in the Pilatus Bank case,” Grech said.
He called for the Attorney General to be transparent and to provide the names of the individuals who have avoided prosecution.
The party must change for the people
Addressing the crowd before Grech, PN deputy leader Alex Perici Calascione said the party must take on responsibility to understand the “new voter reality” the country is facing.
“At the last general election we saw more than 50,000 people staying at home and not voting,” he said.
“That means all those people were fed up with the political situation. That means there were people who did not see us as a solution and we have a responsibility to look at this reality, understand it and act on it.”
He said there were “thousands” of people who were calling for a change, and the party must work listen and discuss with such people.
PN MP Darren Carrabott also addressed the activity.