Azzopardi fumes at being left out of PN book on Steward scandal

The former Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi is stamping his feet about not being invited by the PN to give his contribution to a political book detailing the Vitals Global Healthcare scandal.

‘Vitals: the Greatest Scandal’ is a PN publication which features contributions from PN leader Bernard Grech and predecessors Adrian Delia and Simon Busuttil, as well as lawyer Edward Debono, but not Azzopardi.

Azzopardi had lent his legal muscle to the former Opposition leader Adrian Delia, the MP who filed the famed court case that forced the rescission of the controversial hospitals privatisation contract.

Azzopardi took to Facebook with a very long complaint, claiming that the case against Steward, which took over the VGH concession, “could have almost not happened without me”.

“Let it be clear: I spent three months researching, making copies, and obtaining the material necessary for the court case, all out of pocket. It was my idea alone for the case to be filed. It was to Dr Delia’s merit that he accepted to do it immediately.

“I spent Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in 2018 poring over the papers to compile the case, three months, every day, sometimes up to 10 hours a day. For no compensation.”

Azzopardi, who did not blame the editor of the book – his colleague and Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina – complained that others had benefited from his work. “My shortcomings are legion, but one of them is certainly not piggy-backing over others’ merit... if you want to be a party of the people, you must first have a heart and a conscience.”

Despite his legal contribution to the Steward rescission case, Azzopardi has had strained relationships with present and former leaders.

As a ‘rebel MP’ he had worked to push Delia out of the leadership and elect in his stead, Bernard Grech. Later, it was Grech who tried to put more distance between the party and Azzopardi, who to critics had become a symbol of toxicity.

Already, in the aftermath of failing to get elected to parliament, Azzopardi accused the party administration of playing dirty during the election campaign by isolating him.

Azzopardi, on the warpath against Grech after accusing the party of not supporting his re-election bid, suggested that Grech was approached to support a presidential pardon.

After Grech publicly remarked that Azzopardi had lost re-election because all politicians had an expiry date, the former MP resigned in May 2022.