Alex Borg says prime minister 'acted like a bully' over chief justice appointment

Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg has accused Prime Minister Robert Abela of acting like a "bully" over the appointment of the chief justice.

He claimed that the prime minister made the nominee’s name public and accused him of lying in parliament about the selection process.

"If Robert Abela thinks he can steamroll over me, he is mistaken. No one leads me by the nose," Borg told supporters gathered in Mosta on Sunday.

The Opposition leader said he had expected discussions with the prime minister over one of the country's most important appointments to take place "in a serious and confidential manner". Instead, Borg added, Abela "acted in an infantile way" by leaking the name of government’s nominee to the press when he knew there was no agreement yet.

Borg specifically condemned what he called Abela's lies in parliament, including the claim that Borg had mentioned Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera as his choice for chief justice.

The PN leader said he could no longer trust the prime minister and that is why he had asked the president to intervene. He claimed this forced the prime minister to continue the consultation process as requested from the start.

"This issue should never have been turned into a political football as the prime minister did," Borg said, adding that his parliamentary group's vote this week was against a prime minister, who acted as a bully on such a sensitive matter.

Shadow Justice Minister Joe Giglio told the crowd that Borg had never publicly mentioned candidates' names to safeguard the reputation of every judge serving in Malta's courts. He said the prime minister leaked a name to the media after being told during discussions that there was no agreement on his preferred candidate.

Borg also addressed the national debate sparked by the PN's proposal for a four-day workweek, expressing satisfaction that the party had generated discussion despite government criticism. He pointed to a Malta Employers conference held this week, specifically to discuss the proposal.

"Our country needs a tailor-made work model, not to copy another country with realities different from ours," Borg said, stressing the need for more consultation with social partners and stakeholders.

The PN leader referenced a recent International Monetary Fund report warning about population growth.

Borg promised that a PN government would launch a labour market study within its first 100 days in office "so that we can design an economic model suited to us".

Borg dismissed what he called a "blatant lie" spread by Labour media claiming that a PN government would reverse tax cuts announced in the last budget. He said a new Nationalist government would not only retain good things but build on it, recalling the 50 proposals he put forward in his budget reply, including the Parent 2 tax bracket and the Child Trust Fund.

The PN leader also criticised the government's Grand Harbour Revival Plan, noting that Labour had promised this plan in 2013, 2017, and 2022. He compared the current set-up at Valletta's entrance to the one used when the metro project was launched, which "remained nothing but smoke."