The Nationalist Party has filed a constitutional case against the Public Broadcasting Services, arguing that the station has become the “Labour Party’s parrot.”

The PN has long been accusing the national broadcaster of being under the direct command of Prime Minister Robert Abela and the Labour Party, saying that the station is propagandistic as it favours the government.

During a press conference on Saturday, PN Deputy Leader David Agius said that the party has had to resort to legal action against the Broadcasting Authority, the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), Minister Carmelo Abela, who is responsible for state broadcasting, and the state’s attorney.

Agius called out PBS for becoming a “notice board for the Labour government”, saying that the station offers little space to the Nationalist Party as it has been completely taken over by Castille.

He said that this propaganda has become a bombardment on the public, and this is particularly evident during the 8pm news bulletin.

Agius explained that this legal action comes after months of political imbalance, particularly in news coverage on PBS.

The filed court application was signed by PN general secretary and lawyer Michael Piccinino and lawyers Paul Borg Oliver and Francis Zammit Dimech.

“The Opposition’s message has been completely disregarded or hidden away as it has been sandwiched between messages by the Labour Party, allowing no room for partiality or balance,” Agius said.

Agius presented statistics on PBS coverages comparing the exposure given to both parties on the station, including, 62% PL vs 3% PN (20 January), 31% PL vs 0% PN (21 January), 39% PL vs 5% PN (24 January) and 51%PL vs 6% PN (25 January).

He argued that the 8pm news bulletin was at times taken up by more than 50% of Labour messages, dedicating not a single second of airtime to the Opposition.

“This was a violation of the constitution,” Agius said.

PN general secretary Michael Piccinino explained that this legal action is the climax of the PN's action because the party has been fighting this battle for months on end.

He said that the PN had appealed to the Broadcasting Authority in recent months over impartial news coverage after the October budget.

“The PN had been given daily one-minute slots for 15 days as compensation, but this was pointless as PBS sandwiched the Nationalist Party’s messages between government adverts,” Piccinino said.

He argued that the public’s fundamental rights are being completely ignored every time the state broadcaster opts to give news coverage which is unbalanced and impartial.

“The public have a constitutional right to be fairly informed about everything that is going on and not solely what one single party says,” he said.

For her part, PN candidate Francine Farrugia said that the Labour Party is undergoing a period of extravagant spending and that state entities, such as PBS, have been completely taken over by the Labour Party.