Every day which Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis spends in his post is a day wasted from “possibility of getting on the [FATF’s] white list”, Opposition and PN leader Bernard Grech said in an interview on Sunday.
The Justice Minister has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent weeks, after the emergence of details about messages he exchanged with the alleged mastermind of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, Yorgen Fenech, when it was already revealed that the latter was the owner of 17 Black.
Furthermore, the messages revealed that the Minister ridiculed Labour supporters, which prompted widespread criticism for the Minister who was ultimately elected by Labour voters.
When it comes to Zammit Lewis’s mocking remarks, Grech said that “it is clear that everyone in the country wants to improve its reputation… but how can this be done when we have a justice minister who was involved in chats with someone who is accused of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia?” he questioned.
“Today we have a justice minister who was close to someone who was allegedly the mastermind behind the murder of Caruana Galizia,” Grech said. “Are we understanding the seriousness of the situation?” he stressed.
The Opposition leader remarked that the PN’s pledge to remove Malta from the FATF greylist within three months is possible if the PN is elected in Government, as “the PN does not have the problems of reputation that the PL Government finds itself with,” he said.
That is why, Grech remarked, Prime Minister Robert Abela needs to distance himself from former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Zammit Lewis.
The Opposition leader lauded party youth wing TeamStart—who protested in front of parliament regarding Zammit Lewis’s position—for “managing to capture the mood of the situation”.
He said that he disagreed with the Speaker’s decision to not let parliament reconvene to discuss the urgent matter of the Justice Minister’s “credibility”.
“Every day that Zammit Lewis spends as Justice Minister is a day wasted from the possibility of getting back on the white list,” he said.
On comments made by Labour MEP Alfred Sant, who said that an election should be called to ensure a certain stability in this case, Grech said that although he likes reading Sant’s writings, Grech “cannot agree with this proposal.”
What Alfred Sant is forgetting, Grech said, is that when Malta went into an early election, “they celebrated, but we know what happened after.”
Regarding the recent spate of power cuts which people endured during the heatwave that Malta is facing, Grech said that the Government “is incompetent and does not plan ahead.”
“If there is higher demand in August, the Government has to anticipate this. So, the fact that it didn’t think about the future is proof that this Government is not serious,” he said.
Furthermore, Grech said that electricity bills “did not decrease”, and that the Government is “stealing” from the people by over-charging from electricity bills.
“This is the Labour Government, the Government of darkness… we have a government which does not plan ahead. That is why we are different, as we released the plan for the energy sector a few months ago,” he stated.
This week, Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") affirmed the Government of Malta's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings at A2 but changed the country’s outlook from stable to negative owing to the country’s greylisting.
Asked about this, Grech remarked that “this is more bad news which we have received… the country potentially will be heading into a worse position,” he stated.
“When I see this type of judgement on our country, while it fills me with sadness, I see it as an opportunity to change things,” Grech said. This is something which the PN would change, he stated.
In terms of Covid-19, Grech remarked that “it is good that there are less measures so that people can enjoy themselves.” However, he said that the Government is “moving its goal-posts”, as the standing events that were being planned could not take place.