Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech was openly critical about the government's treatment of Gozo and its citizens in Sunday's political activity.

Grech said it was "unacceptable" that after eleven years in government, those in power have not yet understood that the island of Gozo, and its people, must be handled differently to the island of Malta. "Gozitans are not second-class citizens," Grech said.

The PN leader then proceeded to criticise the government which, according to Grech, claims to be in favour of safeguarding the environment while going ahead with policies that continue to destroy Gozo's natural world. The Opposition leader said that with the two islands of Malta and Gozo having their own respectively unique characteristics, it is important that Gozo in particular is given its own focus and not treated in the same manner that Malta is through government policies. He said that it is therefore important to preserve both what makes Gozo special and what makes it unique.

Grech referenced in his speech that he understands some of the frustrations that Gozitan people go through after having spoken with Gozitan citizens.

Grech said that many Gozitans fear that one day they will need immediate treatment should their health suddenly decline. He reiterated these fears and said that if they cannot receive delicate healthcare services that they require in Gozo, they must cross over to Malta. He said that such a situation has caused Gozitans to fear that should they experience these scenarios themselves, they will not make it to hospital in time.

"Why does this government discriminate against patients just because they are Gozitan? For us, this is unacceptable," Grech said.

After questioning whether the Prime Minister Robert Abela understands the vulnerability of this situation, Bernard Grech said that "Gozo is one of our main priorities", before proceeding to pledge that his political party will build a new hospital in Gozo should they receive the opportunity to do so.

In this light, Grech described how his party has been calling out "the government's bluff", saying that they do not actually intend on constructing a new hospital in Gozo. He lambasted Deputy Prime Minister, and former Health Minister Chris Fearne, for never fulfilling his pledge to develop a new mental health hospital in Malta.

Additionally, he mentioned that while crossing over to the sister island to address this political activity, he experienced a long queue that stretched all the way back till near the exit that heads towards the Red Tower in Mellieħa, despite that he did not attempt to catch a ferry between 17:00-20:00, as instructed by Gozo Channel Chairman Joe Cordina earlier this month. He said that such a situation has arisen because "this is a government that doesn't plan."

The Nationalist Party leader then criticised the government for rejecting PN's call for the Ministers Silvio Schembri, Miriam Dalli, and Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi to resign in the wake of the publication of the Sofia public inquiry report. He also recalled that in Thursday's plenary session, government also voted against PN's call for all recommendations from the report to be fulfilled in the coming six months, and for Parliament to survey these developments.

"This shows that they never learn."

He also said that "everyone", including smaller third parties, NGOs, and even Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, agree with the Nationalist Party's ideas for a new economic model for the country. However, he said that such ideas will not be taken up by government since the "essence of the Labour Party's policies" and their roadmap consists of "one that would put money in their pockets without solving the country's pertinent issues" by bringing in thousands of foreign labourers.

Bernard Grech ended the political activity by calling for people to vote in the local council elections and the European Parliament elections occurring on the same day in June, less than three months away. He said that on that day, voters have the duty to go out and vote and call for change.

"What we can do [as a party] depends on your ability to vote. Vote for PN on June 8th, then watch us lead better within out localities, watch us lead the way in the European Parliament." Grech said.