Opposition Leader Bernard Grech hit back at Prime Minister Robert Abela, saying that he has paid all his taxes, while stating that the latter is not taking Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar’s situation seriously.
This morning, the Prime Minister said that if she is found guilty of tax evasion by the Tax Commissioner “Cutajar should be treated equally as any other citizen, with no favourable treatment.”
The Prime Minister had also said that Grech should look at himself and his actions when it comes to taxes, saying that Grech had evaded paying taxes and only then regularised his position when he was going to be elected as PN leader.
The Opposition leader hit back, saying that he has “no taxes pending and that he has a certificate proving this from the Tax Commissioner.”
Grech said that Abela is not taking the scandal surrounding Rosianne Cutajar seriously.
“Robert Abela continues to choose friends and discard the reputation of the Maltese and Gozitan people... He continues to play school yard politics, failing to choose serious and mature politics,” Grech remarked.
The Opposition leader said that the PM has his hands tied and that “he is afraid of the big fish and wants to catch the small fish.”
“As always, when he has his back against the wall, Robert Abela looks at who he is going to blame or to where he is going to turn,” he said.
The Opposition once again appealed to the PM to look at the national interest. “Look at what foreign institutions, constituted bodies and Maltese and Gozitans are telling us, and do what is appropriate for Maltese politics: dismiss Rosianne Cutajar from your Parliamentary Group,” Grech said.
“As long as she stays there, you will remain an accomplice in further destroying the reputation of our country. I have already asked you to denounce Joseph Muscat and to date you have not done so.”
Grech said that, on the contrary, the PN “wants a way of politics in which the common good prevails.” This, he said, should be done “not for the interest of the few, but for the interest of the many.”
“Politicians should be those who set an example to those who entrusted them with leadership roles, because that is how a serious country works,” he said.