Bernard Grech, the purveyor of fake news | Naomi Cachia

It is becoming increasingly obvious that unable to articulate a vision of what it stands for, the Nationalist Party has resorted to fake news.

The problem with the PN is that its credibility is so low that people can easily see through it, and this latest attempt to resort to fake news is backfiring on the Opposition party.

Pensionable age

Bernard Grech has put up billboards stating that all those born after 1976 must work an extra year to be eligible for a pension. Fake news. Budget 2025 announced that those born on or after 1976 would need to pay social security contributions for 42 years to be eligible for a full pension. The limit is currently 41 years. The government covers national insurance (NI) contributions for students and people in several other situations and they would therefore still be able to retire on a full pension at the age of 65, even if they had not been employed for 42 years. Those who started working aged 23 or under would likely not be impacted by the measure because they would have comfortably paid 42 years of NI by the time they reach pensionable age.

Peter’s lie

PN MEP, Peter Agius, was found to have made unfounded allegations following an investigation by OLAF, which found no abuse of European funds for the construction of a sheep farm. OLAF certified it to be fake news. Grech and Agius never apologised.

Karol’s fiction

A government reform intended to give more rehabilitative opportunities to drug victims, while continuing to reform the laws to have effective justice with efficient procedures was described by PN MP Karol Aquilina as a reform intended to help drug traffickers. Fake news. The lie was repeated by Bernard Grech. He always repeats after Karol Aquilina. He must. He doesn’t have much of a choice.

Cruel allegations

Labour MP Carmelo Abela was the target of a cruel campaign implicating him in a hold-up at HSBC headquarters a few years back. Abela strongly rebutted the charges. The courts found in his favour. The damage and pain incurred by Carmelo and his family is unquantifiable. The PN, which made the allegations its own, never apologised to Abela and his family.

Double standards

An education ministry circular to teachers is being spun by the PN to give the false impression that the government has recently decided to muzzle teachers from speaking to the press. Fake news. Educators are free to speak and express themselves however they like. This circular has been in place since 2008 – a PN administration at the time – and it ask teachers to inform their immediate bosses when they are invited to speak on education in their professional capacity. Another case of double standards by Bernard Grech’s PN.

A death at Mater Dei

An independent inquiry was launched to investigate the death of Stephen Mangion, a 55-year-old police officer who died after allegedly being left waiting in Mater Dei Hospital’s emergency room despite complaining of chest pain. The PN, through Adrian Delia, cried foul and asked for the Health Minister’s and the Prime Minister’s head. They dragged Mater Dei emergency health workers through the mud. The inquiry has since concluded that no one was responsible for Mr Mangion’s death, and nothing could have been done to avoid the death. No apologies from the PN. They moved on to their next fake news.

That the PN has a flexible relationship with the truth has long been known.

Under Bernard Grech’s fragile leadership, it is now widely acknowledged to be the purveyor of fake news.