Grech calls out public funding on lavish film festival as 'clear abuse'

Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech on Sunday called out ‘abuse of public funding’ after it was revealed that the lavish Mediterrane Film Festival cost taxpayers at least a million euros. 

“Today we read the news that millions of euros covered trips for foreign artists. This is a clear case of abuse of public funding, and how this money goes to contractors close to the Labour Party and Robert Abela,” Grech said during a radio interview on NET FM. 

Times of Malta revealed that dozens of renowned actors and film crew were flown to Malta last week for the Mediterrane Film Festival, an event which according to top industry insiders, cost taxpayers at least a million euros. 

Industry insiders also said a short film screened during the lush final gala awards night must have cost at least €100,000 and that the total cost of the film festival itself must have exceeded at least €1 million.

Grech said it was clear that the prime minister used public funds to remain in politics. 

“He uses public funding to remain popular, to stay in politics, and in the meantime, it is clear that there is no good economic plan, no plan to address the skills our workers need to thrive,” he said. 

Grech said Abela’s government was running out of ideas to develop Malta’s economy.

“Instead, it keeps using recycled ideas,” he said. 

Grech once again insisted that Cost of Living (COLA) wage increases should not be taxed and that the government should absorb inflation costs through tax incentives. 

“There needs to be a proper economic plan, and it is very clear we do not have one,” Grech said.

Politics of convenience

He said it was clear that Abela’s politics are not about persuasion but the politics of convenience. This was shown last week when the government performed a U-turn on the so-called abortion bill. As a result, it was clear that even those who were in favour of abortion no longer respected Abela because he was not consistent in his promises, Grech said. 

The Nationalist Party, he added, had always been consistent and would remain pro-life. 

PN motion on Jean Paul Sofia 

Grech also spoke about the parliamentary debate due on July 6 on the Opposition’s motion for the government to launch a public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia. 

Sofia died when a building collapsed while under construction on December 3. Five workers were rescued from the rubble, three of them seriously injured.

 Calls for a public inquiry from the opposition and Sofia’s mother, Isabelle Bonnici have so far been ignored. 

“We need to understand what went wrong, and to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again,” Grech said. 

He said he hoped that the government MPs would make the right choice and vote for the motion together with the Nationalist MPs.  

Grech gave the interview from Paris, France after he took part in the 'Free Iran World Summit 2023'. He joined a number of world leaders who spoke about the situation in the Middle East and Iran.