Bernard Grech and Adrian Delia on Saturday slammed Robert Abela for denying his involvement in the hospitals' privatisation deal, a day after it was annulled by a court.
While handing down the ruling on Friday, Judge Francesco Depasquale had harsh words for the government, saying Vitals were "incredibly" granted an additional 4.5 years to fulfil their obligations, despite failing to deliver on their promises.
Reacting, former premier Joseph Muscat said it was a Cabinet decision to greenlight the deal, while prime minister Abela said the agreements had been signed at a time when he had not yet been elected to parliament.
Flanked by PN MPs Alex Borg, Chris Said and Delia outside the Gozo General Hospital, Grech said Abela could no longer "continue fleeing".
“Abela has been present in the parliamentary group – in the PL Cabinet – for as long as he has been Muscat’s legal advisor.
“Abela continued defending this deal together with his friends, including when he became an MP in 2017, and eventually leader of the PL and prime minister in 2019. For three years - in 2020, 2021 and 2022 - he voted to increase payments to Steward."
Abela, the PN leader said, had persisted in siding "with the corrupt and the fraudsters", instead of the Maltese people.
“Abela has no other choice. He can no longer continue bringing up the excuse that he was not involved.
"When he said he was not part of the Cabinet, he threw the pre-2017 MPs and then-prime minister Muscat under the bus (rema),” Grech said, adding that Abela had even shot down a PN motion demanding that the running of the St Luke's, Karin Grech and Gozo hospitals be handed back to the government.
In April that year, the Opposition led by Delia, tabled a motion calling on the government to rescind the controversial hospitals' concession agreement including a €100 million penalty clause.
Grech said that apart from discussing the matter in parliament on Monday, Abela should – together with others responsible for the deal – answer for the theft from Maltese people.
'Abela cannot safeguard the national interest'
Addressing the same press conference, Delia criticised the “deafening silence” from the government following Friday's ruling.
The only thing they did was start pointing fingers at others, with Muscat blaming all members of the then-Cabinet, he said.
He added that Abela, who had seven lawyers representing him in the case, continued defending, till the very end, these “corrupt and fraudulent foreigners who continued stealing from us till this very day”.
Delia said it was “obscene” that Abela had denied involvement.
“His excuse that he wasn’t there when the deals were made, is childish. He was first and foremost a Castille consultant, and, subsequently, an MP who every year voted in favour of an increase in funding,” Delia said.
He added that when in 2021, the PN put government MPs on notice with a judicial protest claiming a budget vote in favour of giving an additional €23 million to Steward Healthcare, would make them “complicit in a crime”, Abela had greenlighted further funding.
He urged Abela to stop fooling people by saying he wanted to safeguard the national interest.
“Abela is the only one who cannot safeguard the national interest. The only thing Abela can do is shoulder responsibility together with all his friends.”