Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has said that the government is trying to control the media and will do anything, including betray its own people, to keep its grip on power.

Grech said that it is not true that politics is dirty. He said that, rather, it is dirtied and there are those who attack everyone as they were exposed and are trying to cover it up in court.

Grech said that despite the government's 2013 calls of "you may not agree with us but you can still work with us" and "it doesn't matter who you know, but what you know", at its first chance, the PL government kicked out PBS journalist Norman Vella. He went on to salute Vella as he wasn't willing to do their bidding and even won a court case against the government, with the courts declaring that he was dismissed for political reasons.

Grech said that this is the mask of a government that said and promised much but does the opposite. He added that government is doing the same to journalists and independent media and that it attacks them because they are doing what is right and not what it wants them to do. Ultimately, through their investigative work and democratic duty, they are revealing the deceit of the government led by Robert Abela, he said.

Grech insisted that nothing and no one will stop the media from doing what is right.

Grech said that the government is ready to do anything to steamroll over the people as it is only interested in keeping Robert Abela in power to do what he wants. He said that in the government gazette was presented as evidence in order to show who the members of cabinet were when the Vitals deal was made.

Grech questioned, "If Robert Abela thinks so little of his own friends, what does he think of the people then?" Grech said that Abela only wants the people for their vote so that he may feel strong and carry on with the 'tyranny' he is so used to.

Grech reiterated that Abela is willing to do anything to keep his grip on power that he is willing to steal the Siggiewi local council. He said that Abela took offense to his saying that the government buys votes and said that the government doesn't only buy votes, but steals them too.

Grech added that Abela was told this by the courts on Wednesday, when, he said, it declared that what happened in Siggiewi was electoral fraud. He said that Labour doesn't know how to play by the rules, rather they bend the rules to steal and defraud the Maltese people.

Grech said that in the decision not only did the courts over-rule the government's appeals on the Siggiewi fraud, but also declined their prolonging of proceedings. He added that though the government may control the police commissioner and other institutions, they have no say on the courts. 

Furthermore, Grech said that the courts went on to call for a police investigation into the Siggiewi electoral fraud due to an attempted "cover-up". He said that this was done to find the public officials responsible for electoral fraud and the cover-up as it is highly unlikely that 99 people changed their residence when they don't even live there. Grech added that they are on the lookout so that proceedings will be done correctly.

Turning to the Vitals inquiry, Grech said that outside court, Robert Abela says that that the magisterial inquiry should be made public but meanwhile in court the State Attorney opposed this for his own advantage.

He directly accused Robert Abela of knowing the contents of the inquiry, to use to his advantage and even threaten certain people not to give testimony in court.

Grech said that the people have had enough and are slowly giving the message that government is losing support with its robbery of the Maltese people. He added, "don't let anyone fool you that these elections are not important because through them the people can send a strong message to Robert Abela that he cannot continue behaving in this way and continue doing what he wants."