Prime Minister Robert Abela has given up on governing and is out of solutions to address the dissatisfaction that people are expressing, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.
He was speaking during an interview broadcast on the Nationalist Party’s radio station.
The Labour Party, he said, was buckling under the weight of its politics of theft, as people express their anger on issues such as prolonged power cuts and Clyde Caruana’s “lies” about Air Malta CEO David Curmi’s salary.
Robert Abela himself had also lied when he said that all questions about Jean Paul Sofia’s death would be answered by the magisterial inquiry, Grech said.
“It is clear that he does not have the solutions and has given up on governing,” Grech said.
“Robert Abela is afraid to look you in the eye because he is weak and confused. He is facing huge problems internally and has managed to alienate everyone. It is useless to state the obvious, we all know the country is in a bad state, just look at the state of abandonment and the filth on our streets. There is no enforcement, planning or investment in infrastructure taking place.”
Grech said that it is not only the lack of planning and investment from the government that is impacting people’s lives but a lack of transparency and accountability in governance.
Situations like tenders being stuck in court for years because of undue influence or favours arise because the government does not provide a level playing field for all.
Businesses that do things by the book and follow the rules don’t need to depend on the government, they invest, compete and grow on their own steam, he said, but Robert Abela’s government is working only to enrich its inner circle and not the public at large.
Grech also said that the country could no longer rely on an economic model that requires growing the population to sustain itself.
“I have nothing against foreign workers, they are both valuable and necessary, but we need a plan to motivate our youth towards certain professions and work to reskill and upskill certain sections of the workforce,” he said.
The Nationalist Party, he said, has a play to create good opportunities for Maltese families that does not come at the expense of having a good quality of life.