People are beginning to wake up and “see through Robert Abela’s gimmicks”, such as sending cheques close to elections, while he ignored the country’s issues, PN leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.
Speaking during an interview on NET FM, the Grech slammed Abela and his government for not taking responsibility for their numerous failures, such as the country’s current power crisis.
Like Abela before him, he made no mention of a Times of Malta survey showing that while Labour's support among the population was sharply down, the PN's was practically stagnant.
“Robert Abela and his friends are disconnected from the population, they do not have their fingers on the pulse,” Grech said, adding that the government was refusing to admit to the severity of the situation.
Last night, power outages continued across the country for the sixth night in a row for some localities amid a dire heatwave.
Times of Malta readers from Sliema and Rabat reported an outage that by Sunday morning had lasted over 30 hours.
“Robert Abela and his friends are disconnected from the population, they do not have their fingers on the pulse,” Grech said.
The prime minister, he said, sent out cheques to cover up his lack of political awareness.
There might be those who “irresponsibly” rationalise the power issue as another problem that was bound to happen, but the reality of a country suffering the consequences of a haphazard government could not be ignored.
“This government did not just fail to plan but also chose corruption over investing in you and the country.”
The Gozo Hospital lost power on Saturday night but a generator was able to keep the lights on. However, the generator was unable to support the hospital’s air conditioning, leaving patients in uncomfortable conditions, he said.
“Not only did they not invest in the hospitals but they didn’t even invest in a generator,” Grech said, referencing the recent Vitals case.
In February, a court annulled a hospitals’ privatisation deal originally signed with Vitals, declaring it to be “fraudulent”. An investigation carried out by Times of Malta showed that at least €355 million of taxpayer money was paid to Vitals and Steward Healthcare while the hospitals remained derelict.
Grech noted that the recent power outages not only affected lighting, fridges and temperature control, but home medical equipment such as monitors and breathing assistance.
Reading a letter that was sent to him, Grech spoke of a triple bypass patient who had two operations in the past three years due to cancer but has received no essential communication services.
What happens if this person needs help but has no power for a landline or internet, Grech asked.
Grech also criticised the Enemalta power outage map for not accurately portraying the situation, claiming this is yet another instance where Abela has not shouldered responsibility but is lying to the nation.
Grech also accused Labour MPs of downplaying the situation. Energy Minister Miriam Dalli had told people not to use their ACs while Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli took to Facebook to tell them to read while they waited for their electricity to return.
“Robert Abela and his friends have failed the Maltese and Gozitan populations in almost everything.”
On Friday, the Nationalist Party called for Dalli’s resignation after five consecutive days of blackouts.
‘Only interested in himself’
Continuing to speak of Abela’s missteps, Grech spoke on the recent inquiry u-turn that the government took on the matter of Jean Paul Sofia’s construction death.
On Saturday, five people were arrested in connection with the death of Sofia following a magisterial inquiry into the Corradino construction collapse.
However, prior to a vigil held last Monday, Abela changed his mind on whether a magisterial inquiry was enough to find justice for Sofia and his family and announced an inquiry, claiming that the magistrate had delayed her probe.
Grech said that Abela completely missed the nation’s feelings, adding the issue was not one of party politics.
“The only person who does not understand what is going on at the moment is Robert Abela,” he said.
“He is only interested in himself and in looking good.”
Abela had also ignored rising cost of living, Grech said, an issue affecting everyone. Some could not afford to pay their bills or put food on the table.
The PN head lambasted the country’s current “visionless and directionless” economic model of importing cheap labour rather than investing in local industries.
To make matters worse, this was a “vicious cycle”. As COLA rose, employers made their services and products more expensive to compensate for the higher wages, negating the extra allowance employees receive.
“People are angry and people are turning on Robert Abela,” he said.