Propaganda round-up: Abela’s property deal and Grech’s obsession with the past

The second week of the 2022 general election is almost over, and the parties’ negative campaigns have hit their stride.

The Nationalist Party focused their efforts on Prime Minister Robert Abela’s 2018 property deal with alleged kidnapper Christian Borg.

Their 28 February advert featured Robert Abela’s refusal to reply to questions by the independent media on the property deal.  

The second advert, uploaded on Thursday, followed suit, raising questions on any further deals carried out by Abela during his tenure at the Planning Authority.

On Wednesday, the PN also uploaded a poster showing an edited Robert Abela photocopying their manifesto.

It was also captioned with the words: “Jew nikkopja tal-PN jew ikolli niktbu s-Sibt u l-Ħadd” (I either copy the PN's, or I have to write it on Saturday and Sunday). The caption is a jibe at Abela’s comments after he defended the €17,000 monthly contract his legal firm had received from the Planning Authority, saying his legal team’s work extended to weekends, occasionally even Sundays.

In a video complementing its billboard campaign, the Labour Party kept up its mantra of calling out the PN for sticking to its past. Titled ‘Bernard il-Wiċċ tal-Passat’, the advert features high-ranking officials and controversial figures associated with the PN.

Its second ad focused on the PN leader’s slipups during political events.

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