The common good is calculated with quality of life of the people and not GDP, Nationalist Leader Adrian Delia said on Saturday.

Speaking in his weekly interview on NetFM, Delia gave his reaction to the recent approval of the controversial Central Link Project which saw the widespread criticism for a project that overlooks environmental factors, giving priority to economic growth.

All this, he said, happened in spite of the government having said that the environment will be given priority during its legislature.

He said that the environment is a priority for the Opposition, a sentiment he felt was echoed by young people, and that the government was irreversibly damaging it – also adding that 10 people are dying every week due to the negative situation of the environment.

Notably, he pointed out that while the government says that it wants to only have electric cars on the road within six years, permits for petrol stations are still being approved

The Opposition again called for a mass transport system, saying that there is a need for a clean transport system that does not increase the number of cars on the road.

Constitutional Court

Delia said that he had sent a letter to the Prime Minister telling him that the Opposition will be available to keep working during the summer so that a public inquiry takes place on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, but the Prime Minister was yet to answer.

 

He also reacted positively to the Constitutional Court accepting his request to summon Ministers Edward Scicluna, Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona for them to testify on how they had information from the Egrant inquiry report which had not been made public.

Internal struggles

With regards to the internal struggles going on in the party, Delia explained that he wouldn’t be getting on the broadcasting services to get councilors to vote for him, but insisted that people observe before they make a decision, and that the General Council should not be treated as a challenge against him in spite of some trying to paint it as such.

Party structures must also be looked at, he said, and an analysis must be done to see how the committees are working and how they can be modernized and made more effective.

The Opposition Leader also insisted that Louis Galea will be leading the reform, and that it was up to the Nationalist Party members to change the party for the better.

He also touched on the financial situation of the party, saying that new methods have to be studied to examine how the assets of the party, such as their property, can be better used to improve the financial situation of the party.