Prime Minister Rober Abela has lost control of the government, the Nationalist Party said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, election candidate Justin Schembri referred to recent scandals involving Labour MP Ian Castaldi Paris, who owes €300,000 in taxes, Silvio Grixti, who resigned from Parliament after he was interrogated by the police over fraudulent medical certificates, and Education Minister Justyne Caruana, who is under fire after she gave a €15,000 contract to an unqualified friend.

Referring to the 380 Covid-19 cases discovered on Tuesday, Schembri said this continues to show that Abela has also lost control of the nation.

Mentioning the Standards Commissioner report, he said that despite it being evident that Justyne Caruana has been found acting unethically in giving a contract to Daniel Bogdanovic, the Prime Minister’s actions do not reflect this. Mentioning some parts from the case, he reminded that Caruana, Bogdanovic and ministry official Paul Debattista have all lied in their witness statements, with Bogdanovic not even knowing what was in the report compiled by Debattista.

PN candidate Charles Azzopardi said that this government is continuing to make fun of the whole nation as its actions are continuing to classify Malta in the lowest standard possible. He added that evidence to this are the scandalous events that have happened throughout these past eight years, resulting in Malta becoming greylisted.

He said that the government has also shown that it has different leverage in penalty depending on the person, as in the case of Roseanne Cutajar, who was made to resign from Parliamentary Secretary immediately.

PN candidate Rebekah Cilia said that the government led by Robert Abela is set for disaster as its roadmap is based on theft, corruption and impunity. Mentioning the Justine Caruana case, she added that it reflects negatively on the Ministry for Education.

Answering questions by the media, Justin Schembri said that although the survey results show that the Labour Party is favoured to win the next general election, many people are disgusted by ministers abusing their powers and public funds.

Speaking on behalf of the Nationalist Party, Schembri called on the government to be more transparent in revealing the actual number of Covid cases. Adding that there should also be an extension in the wage supplement until the end of March or else refer to the measure they suggested and lower VAT for restaurants to 7%.