Government motion condemning Opposition ‘fascist vendetta’, Grech says

Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech has accused the Labour government of using parliament as a tool for "fascist vendetta" against the Opposition. 

"The Labour Government is failing to use Parliament's time to discuss and solve the real problems facing Maltese and Gozitan families. Instead, it is exploiting it as a tool of political vendetta, launching a fascist attack against the Nationalist Party, which is fulfilling its constitutional role as the Opposition," Grech declared.

The controversy stems from a recent heated parliamentary sitting where Speaker Anglu Farrugia clashed with MP Karol Aquilina. 

This confrontation led to the Nationalist Party accusing Farrugia of running Parliament with "political bias" and serving the "partisan interests" of the Labour government.

This led to government Whip Naomi Cachia filing a parliamentary motion condemning Aquilina and the Opposition’s “attitude”, with a debate and vote to be held on Monday.

Grech condemned the government's motion, describing it as unprecedented abuse of parliamentary procedures.

He further characterised the government's motion as "a direct attack on those who voted for the Nationalist Party in the last general election," arguing that it seeks to "deprive these thousands of Maltese and Gozitans of their constitutional right to representation"

He called for parliamentary time to be dedicated to discussing pressing national issues such as the rising cost of living, healthcare and education crises, and institutionalised corruption, rather than for “political intimidation tactics.”

The Nationalist Party leader vowed that his party would continue to be "a clear voice for the truth in Parliament" and would not be intimidated by what he termed as the government's attempts to assume the roles of prosecutor, judge, and jury “all at once.”