Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Robert Abela made a bet with his supporters on Tuesday evening, as he bet that the Nationalist Party would report him for “buying votes” when people receive their additional Cost of Living Allowance on Saturday.
Abela was speaking at a Labour Party campaign activity in Santa Lucija when he said that the PN did not even agree with the government’s initiatives to put money into people’s pockets.
They said we are doing it to buy votes, Abela said, speaking about the tax refund cheques which were recently sent out to all workers.
“I bet you that after Saturday when you receive the second additional COLA cheque they will go and report us for buying votes,” he told supporters.
“But if they think they will stop us from sending you the help we promised, they are mistaken; because as long as you keep giving us your faith you will keep receiving this assistance. If you want cheques instead of bills, you know who to vote for,” he said.
Abela dedicated most of his speech to the cost of living crisis, saying it started from the Covid-19 pandemic and continued with wars, and questioned whether as a government they could have done nothing or been the ones to increase prices.
“I ask this because that’s what other governments did,” he said, referring to the PN’s government prior to 2013 and how fuel and electricity prices increased by double what they had increased abroad.
He said that the Prime Minister of back then Lawrence Gonzi is one of those who is still “pulling the strings” within the PN.
The PN, he said, still believes in this mantra as in its mind, it is never wrong. “Right until today, they boast about what they did before 2013 and they still believe in that,” Abela said of the party.
He said that the PN attacks the government “for being your shield.” “A Nationalist Party which is among the first to pontificate on how we should be following advice from abroad to reduce assistance to the people,” Abela said.
Abela said that the PL had understood that you have to help the middle class and businesses because otherwise the consequences spread to everyone.