The Nationalist Party has demanded an apology from the prime minister after he appeared to justify the actions of a minister and customer care officials in the driving tests racket during comments to the media.

Times of Malta on Sunday revealed hundreds of chats in which then Transport Minister Ian Borg and various ministerial customer care officials forwarded to a Transport Malta official the names of people who were about to take their driving test.

Abela on Monday said that was how the local political system worked and he was against changing it. He also noted that not all those whose name was forwarded had passed their driving test.

The Employers Association said Abela's remarks were a radical invitation to anarchy. "The Prime Minister’s pronouncement in this respect is a radical invitation to anarchy which encourages individuals and businesses to bypass what should be established and trusted structures to either get fast-tracked to obtain what they are eligible for, or worse, to acquire entitlements which they should never have at the expense of others," the association said.

The Insurance Association and various NGOs expressed similar views.

The shadow minister for transport, Adrian Delia in a statement said the latest revelations showed how it was the people who eventually had to pay for every case of fraud and corruption.  

He said the prime minister's remarks were very worrying and Robert Aela needed to apologise and resolve the crisis which he and his colleagues had created. 

"It is impossible to justify correspondence and messages which show blatant corrupt practices. This scandal is raising serious doubts about road safety amid concerns that drivers may have acquired their driving licence thanks to favouritism, with an obvious danger to themselves and others," Delia said.  

All this meant a higher risk to the people and insurance companies.

The Nationalist Party was insisting on action so that the interests of all the people were safeguarded, Delia said.