'Our country is calling us, let us answer that call' - Bernard Grech urges electorate to vote on June 8

PN leader Bernard Grech has urged the people of Malta vote on June 8 and invited the public to gather in front of parliament on Monday “to send a message that the Government can’t go on like this.”

In an interview with MaltaToday editor Kurt Sansone on Saturday. Grech said his party had already started working for a better Malta and was listening to the people who, he said were “fed up of the sleaze and corruption and are beginning to understand that the PN is defending their interests, not that of cliques.”

“We aren’t waiting to be elected to bring about change, we are already working for change.” Grech said, pointing to the battle for a public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia and the court case which resulted in the Vitals hospital deal being rescinded, both which had been started by the PN.  “Now we are working to bring the hospitals deal money back to the people,” Grech said.

He contrasted this with the Labour government’s strong resistance to those initiatives. “If [Prime Minister Robert Abela] isn’t listening to your problems and concerns, he can’t address them.” 

Asked about comments he had made in the wake of the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, Grech said he wasn’t impressed.

“Chris Fearne bowed to the inevitable. I recognise the fact that he finally realised that he could not continue in his role as Deputy Prime Minister and avoid continuing the damage being done to our country.”

“The person who did the right thing was Chris Said, who as soon as there was a suggestion of wrongdoing, stepped aside and allowed the investigations to continue. When he was eventually cleared, he returned, but he did not spend years delaying his decision [to resign].

“But at least, Chris Fearne, however long he took, showed that he has more respect for the institutions than the rest of the government,” said Grech, contrasting the Deputy Prime Minister’s decision to fall on his sword with Justice Minister Jonathan Attard’s complaint that radio host Andrew Azzopardi was “only asking the questions he wanted to ask.”

While underlining his respect towards and personal friendship with Fearne, Grech said that Fearne, who had been Health Minister at the time the Vitals deal was inked, hadn’t done anything to stop it.  “He entered politics with the intention of doing the right thing. But at the moment of truth, he did not.”

Sansone asked Grech about the decision to also charge top civil servants, including Permanent Secretaries, and Central Bank Governor Edward Scicluna, for what appeared to be “crimes of omission”, or failing to do their duty.

“We can sugar coat it all we want,” Grech replied,  “but in the eyes of the law, omission is just as bad as commission. If a security guard sees a person getting beaten up and does not intervene, he is as guilty as the person punching. Edward Scicluna is the security guard for the Central Bank…Chris Fearne was the government’s security guard,” said the Opposition leader, also pointing out that the PN had pointed out “from day one” that the hospitals deal had been made with people who had nothing to do with medicine.

“Even if they hadn’t known beforehand, they should have noticed while seeing the money being spent and nothing being delivered in return,” Grech said, stressing that it had to be the PN that took the matter in hand and filed a court case which led to the recission of the deal.

“Then they come before the people, saying that they brought the hospitals back for the people,” Grech said.

That was not the only time that the Government had tried to take credit for work done by others, Grech said. “In court the State Advocate himself stated that the international arbitration proceedings with Steward Healthcare had been filed by third parties, but the government claimed that they had filed those proceedings.”

Asked what he expected the Prime MInister to have done, Grech said he had expected the Prime Minister to have supported Adrian Delia’s quest to rescind the hospitals deal in 2020, “and not do everything in his power to stop the police from doing their job.”

“We’ve been warning you for six years and unfortunately everything we warned about came to pass,” Grech said, adding that he took no pleasure from the current circumstances. “I enjoy seeing a country being led well.”

Grech pointed out that the Prime Minister had initially said that he would not be filing an appeal to the judgement on the Vitals deal. “Then he claimed to have filed arbitration proceedings, then he continued to pay them money, despite our judicial protests to stop the payments. Then the magisterial inquiry was concluded and Robert Abela began to attack the court. “I expected Robert Abela not to attack the institutions, not to attack the magistrate,” he told Sansone. “Unfortunately he [Abela] is compromised and weak”

The State Advocate had said that he would only file the case were the Prime Minister to instruct him to. “So the fact that he didn’t file that case, means [the Prime Minister] instructed him not to.”

Nine days ago, Abela had filed a note in court, arguing that he had not been leading the Government at the time the deal was made,” Grech said, explaining that this was why Muscat was angry at him, “because he threw everyone away.”

President’s comments about current situation

Asked about the recent comments by President Myriam Spiteri Debono, urging calm and respect for the law, Grech said he was “glad that she recognised her obligation to speak out and that she spoke out.”

“Despite coming from the opposite side of the House, she is a person who has also understood that the country cannot continue down the path it is on. She recognised that you cannot attack the judiciary, attack journalists, because by doing that you are inciting the public to mistrust them.”

Labour and its party members had not learned their lesson from the previous political earthquake, which had led to Muscat’s resignation, Grech said. “Even in parliament they tell us to shut up ‘because we’l; beat you by another 40,000 votes.’

“But now we understand that whoever is part of the problem can’t solve it and the people are understanding that the PN is growing in strength every day, and is not only talking, but taking action.” 

Grech urged the public to gather in front of parliament on Monday “to send a message that the government can’t carry on like this.”

“So Repubblika who requested the inquiry don’t have a copy of it, the public who were robbed don’t have a copy of it, the PN don’t have a copy of it, but Joseph Muscat and Robert Abela have a copy?”

The people had to go and show their feelings in front of the parliament building because even in Parliament the PN was not being allowed to raise these issues. 

“Every time? On Monday, I asked the Speaker to allow a discussion in Parliament about the need to publish the inquiry…but our Speaker, who has a responsibility towards Parliament and the people, said no again.” 

Grech announced that his MPs will now begin to exercise parliamentary disobedience. “We are not going to carry on following the rules and getting hit around the head as a result, because it is the people who are getting hit around the head too.”

But in order for change to happen, the people had first to understand that the situation was untenable, Grech went on. “This is what happened to us in 2013. People were getting tired of the PN. Were we doing everything wrong? No, but there were shortcomings…At that time there was Joseph Muscat who gave the people a vision.

Using Muscat’s past slogans against him, Grech pointed out that “the first thing he said was zero tolerance on corruption and the first thing they did once in office was open offshore accounts.”  

The people, “including some millionaire businessmen,” had been afraid to speak up, Grech said, but things were now starting to change.

“The people want tranquility in their lives and in the country, but unfortunately the lack of tranquility in the country is affecting their personal tranquility. “

He rejected the argument that EU President Roberta Metsola was working against Malta. “When you work against Malta you don’t have to go abroad to do it, you can do it from here. That is what they are doing. The damage is being done here in Malta….Malta was greylisted, not because of something that was said abroad, but because we had people in power who embezzled millions and nothing happened.” 

Grech said that he was focused on listening to the public and had been building a coalition with social partners, student groups, NGOs and the people over the past weeks. 

“You cannot continue to support people who attack the judicature, who attack journalists. Imagine what he’ll do if he gets a bigger majority this time.”

“This is why you have to go out and vote on the 8th of June. You have the duty to be there. Our country is calling us, let us answer that call.”