Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech praised his predecessor Adrian Delia for his “foresight” when he came to insisting that a two-thirds majority in Parliament should be a constitutional requirement for the appointment of a President.

After wishing the new president Myriam Spiteri Debono a strong term in line with her speech, Grech said that it wasn’t “by coincidence” that we reached this point however.

It was due to the care of the PN and by their actions in the interest of the Maltese people, during Adrian Delia’s leadership, when the party didn’t accept the proposed amendments of the Labour Party and insisted that a two-thirds majority must be achieved in order to agree upon a new president.

By digging its feet, Grech said that the PN gave the tools to the Opposition of today and the future to have a say in the selection of a new head of state a stop being “spectators.”

Grech said the selection process for a new president began eight months ago with public and private declarations and discussions. He said that he insisted, however, on a “red line that couldn’t be crossed”; it would be unacceptable to have a new president who contributed to the air of impunity , was involved in corruption, and ultimately led to the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

He said those people have “blood on their hands” and it was unacceptable that such people would represent the country. Grech quoted the new president Myriam Spiteri Debono herself who said that he who is part of the problems cannot be part of their solutions.

When Spiteri Debono spoke on the 8th of September in 2021 in front of the law courts and emphasised the need to free our country with reference to Caruana Galizia’s, Grech said that it was then he knew Spiteri Debono was worthy of a high role due to her integrity. He added that it is only through people like her that the country can be freed.

Grech said that even as the party in Opposition they managed to make a difference; how much more so if they were in government. He cited the changes they made in the Nationalist localities and said even more changes would be made with more Nationalist localities. He referred as well as the changes done internationally by PN in the EU and how many more would follow if they won a third seat at the European Parliament

The PN’s work is to keep on convincing the Maltese people that they are not like the Labour Party, Grech said. He questioned whether there was anyone in the PN who had been deemed to have contributed to the air of impunity by three judges.

It is not only a matter of convincing the people that PN is different to PL but also that the party has a plan for the greater good of the country, Grech said. The government’s only plan is to gain money, he said, adding that the president herself said that greed is rife.

Grech made reference to the power cut scandal of 2023 and the explanations the government gave for them. Ultimately he said that it was all done to steal the people’s money instead of invest it in the country.

Whilst €400 million euro was spent on the hospitals concession, none of this translated into actual investment in Maltese hospitals, Grech said.

The last substantial investment the country saw was years ago when PN government invested in the interconnector, Grech said. Despite this, the following Labour government insisted that they were going to build a better and cleaner power station, he said.

Grech pointed out that today, the government is renting diesel generators that are not only of poor quality but also high in emissions. He said that this why the PN thinks ahead and has a plan, because when one doesn’t “the price is steep” and one has to make do with what they find.

Grech said that the PN is facing an uphill battle and is “against all the odds.” He said this because whilst the Maltese people were celebrating the inauguration of a new president and a way forward last Thursday, commentary on the PBS broadcast of the event was dominated by speakers from the ‘Labour camp’. He said there was no PN representation or at least an independent analyst.

The reason for this is that PBS is controlled by a weak and insecure Robert Abela who is afraid of discussion and is trying to “kill it”, Grech said, giving the example of the cancellation of Xarabank. He added that the people’s money is being used for their propaganda in other media as well.

The government offers jobs or money to people who don’t deserve them to either keep them quiet, as was the case of Rosianne Cutajar, whose new role was opposed by the auditor general, or simply for more votes, Grech said. In the case of votes, he said that the government was willing to shell out driving licenses to people who were not ready for the roads even though it put the general public in danger.

Grech insisted that PN must keep on working and keep its faith because Malta and Gozo need it.