[WATCH] Robert Abela surrounded by people who failed Malta - Delia

The government will never be able to fix the damage done to Malta’s reputation, because Robert Abela’s government is rotten and the Prime Minister is surrounded by people who failed the country, Adrian Delia said.

The Nationalist Party leader said that Joseph Muscat’s government, and now the Abela administration, had “betrayed the people” and that it was inevitable that Malta kept heading in the wrong direction as long as Labour remained in power.

“Until we remain under Labour, we will keep heading in this direction. Until all those who are tainted don’t resign, we will keep going in that direction. The Joseph Muscat government, and now Robert Abela’s, has betrayed the people. They swore to serve the country but instead stole for the few and left Malta in this situation,” he said.

Delia was reacting to critical statements made by Council of Europe rapporteur Pieter Omtzigt on Friday - during a meeting with Abela and a number of government ministers - on how Malta had taken too long to start implementing necessary rule of law reforms.

“What Chris Fearne had said [about damage to the country’s reputation] is not just written on the wall now, but it is written everywhere. We are now at the point where the reputational damage to Malta is irreparable. It can almost never be fixed. And if Robert Abela doesn’t sit down and look at the Opposition and the people and realise that the government won’t be able to fix this - because it is too rotten and he is completely surrounded by people who failed democracy, our country and  our principles […] then we will come to the point of no return,” he said.

Delia, who is currently facing calls by a number of his MPs to resign from party leader, was speaking during an interview on NET FM this morning as a PN executive committee meeting is underway.

“Our executive is meeting right now to discuss all necessary reforms. It is a positive atmosphere… full of ideas,” he said, “Some try to say that because we discuss things it means we are arguing. They try to portray dialogue as something negative. But all those present realise the discussions are done in an enthusiastic spirit. The party realises it must renew itself.”

Police racket depicts a surreal situation

The police overtime abuse and protection money racket revealed in the past week depicted a surreal situation, Delia said.

He said it was hard to understand how deep the corruption went and how rotten the system was.

“Those who should be ensuring that nothing wrong takes place are instead engaged in wrongdoing,” he underscored, highlighting that it wasn’t a case of a handful of policemen who were involved but of a problem with the entire culture of the corps.

“It is an issue related to a culture of impunity,” he said.

Delia said Abela had been employing a system of two weights two measures when it came to ministers’ resignations. He said former Gozo minister Justyne Caruana had resigned following reports of close ties between her husband, ex-deputy police commissioner Silvio Valletta, and Yorgen Fenech, the man accused of ordering Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder. But, when it came to minister Michael Farrugia, who was previously responsible for the police corps, he had not been made to step down, despite what has emerged in connection with the racket.

“Does the minister who was responsible for the police not have to resign because of these atrocities?” Delia asked.

Government gave millions to foreigners who stole from the people

Delia also touched on the saga concerning the concession to run three of Malta’s hospitals. He said former tourism minister Konrad Mizzi “and his friends” had taken the people’s money and given it to Vitals Global Healthcare, who had originally been charged with running the hospitals. In the coming week, more people would be implicated in connection with the matter, he remarked, without giving details.

“The government is giving millions to foreigners who did nothing but come to Malta to steal from us. This is how deceitful they are,” Delia said, as he pointed out the hyprocrisy that the government had stolen from the people, but would in the coming days be paying families a one-off milk and bread bonus.