Abela says Labour victory not a foregone conclusion: 'The election starts at nil-nil'

Prime Minister Robert Abela insists the bigger the margin of votes, the ‘humbler’ the Labour Party will remain  

Robert Abela at a Labour event on Friday evening
Robert Abela at a Labour event on Friday evening

Robert Abela has warned supporters the General Election is not a foregone conclusion, and supporters should continue working to help the Labour Party get elected.

“There are those who are giving the impression that the election is over, and the Labour Party will automatically win. Don’t fall for this trap, the election starts nil-nil,” he warned supporters during a political event held in Fgura.

Abela said he wanted to remind supporters “how arrogant” the PN was in 2008 when it won by a margin of just 1,000 votes.

“It means we have to remain humble, and I will personally ensure we remain so. The bigger the margin, the humbler we will remain,” Abela told supporters.

“Beppe Fenech Adami, Jason Azzopardi, Karol Aquilina, David Agius – these are the people who will lead the Malta of tomorrow, these are the people behind Bernard Grech,” he said, as the crowd booed. “These are the people who will roll back our reforms.”

He called on people to ask themselves whether his administration had managed to strike a balance between health and the economy.

“We helped business in the pandemic, we helped employees and we worked to sustain Malta,” he said. “But if you lend me your trust, we can start fresh and look ahead to the country’s future.”

He mentioned a number of electoral pledges related to a number of sectors including the environment, taxes and education.

“With us you know where you stand, with us there are no risks,” he said. “What you can say about us is that when we promised an increase in pensions, we gave a bigger raise. When we promised tax rebates, we gave an additional €100 cheque.”

Speaking at a rally held in Qormi later on Friday, Abela said the PN administration burdened families when it was faced with a global crisis. “We on the other hand have emerged from the pandemic with a lower unemployment rate than before it.”

On the conflict in Ukraine, he called on people to compare Malta’s utility and fuel prices to those in other European countries.

“The Labour government on the other hand will ensure stable prices, if you lend us your trust,” he said.