Instead of focusing on families, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is more interested in cooking up stories, most recently about a division within the Nationalist Party, the PN said in a statement.

“It would be better if the Prime Minister focuses on real issues, such as the traffic problem and the string of thefts in Sliema. The only solutions that he was capable of coming up with were changing school hours to decrease traffic and telling Sliema residents not to go abroad,” the statement said.

The Party said that the Dr Muscat needs to shoulder responsibility and take action against the institutionalised corruption within government entities. If the Labour Party is allowing such corruption after two and half years, one can only imagine what will go in if it wins the election again, it said.

Dr Muscat is uniting everyone against him, the statement concluded.

Government reacts

In a reaction, the government said that with all the negativity and extremism, Dr Fenech Adami is maintaining the old style of politics.

Security and crime issues are not solved through political statements, but professionally, the statement said, adding that the police is taking the necessary steps to address the string of thefts.

Dr Fenech Adami and his party are contradicting themselves, the statement concluded.

PN replies

In a reply, Dr Fenech Adami said that while some residents are in fear of burglars, the government is using the time to attack the Opposition through partisan statements.

He said that National Security Minister Carmelo Abela is not even aware of the rise in crime and has failed to take any concrete action.

The opposition will not stop talking about the realities being faced by Maltese families.