Robert Abela lashes out at new PN leader in first ‘cordial’ meeting

Robert Abela lashed out at new Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech in what had to be a first cordial meeting between the two.

The Prime Minister went on the attack as he accused Grech of being “24 hours late” in going to the police or a magistrate with claims of corruption in the Electrogas deal.

Abela took Grech to task over a proposal the PN leader made to hold a public inquiry on the gas power station deal.

“If you know of corruption, you have a duty not just to write about it on social media but report it to the police or adopt the route of your predecessor Simon Busuttil and ask for a magisterial inquiry… 24 hours have already passed since you made the allegation, you are already 24 hours late,” Abela said in an accusatory tone.

Abela insisted that government’s stand on migration was that Malta was full-up, accusing Grech of hindering his work in the EU by saying the opposite.

“I do not agree with you when you said Malta was not full-up because it hindered my work at the European Council when I made the point that Malta was full-up,” Abela said.

Since becoming PN leader, Grech has called for a national conference on migration, pushing aside the argument he had made during the PN leadership campaign that he did not believe Malta was full-up.

Grech rebutted that the Prime Minister had not understood the scope of his proposal for a national conference.

The meeting between the two took place in parliament shortly after Grech took his seat as an MP.

PN deputy leader David Agius and PL deputy leader Daniel Micallef were also present for the meeting.

In comments to journalists after the meeting, Grech said the Prime Minister went on a monologue without understanding the PN’s call for a conference that would also discuss population apart from irregular migration.

“The government has no plan to address its own policy to import foreign labour,” Grech said, adding this had created undue pressure on the country.

He also said Abela had forgotten that there was a damning report by the Auditor General on the Electrogas contract, reiterating his call for a public inquiry into the tender award.