Former PL MP Silvio Grixti, who faces charges in court over the social benefits racket, has taken to Facebook to post a short message which seems to be directed at Prime Minister Robert Abela.

Writing on his personal Facebook page, Grixti said that expressions about humility – a word that was used by Abela following the European Parliament election result – were hullaballoo. “One is born and raised humble, the rest is false,” he said.

The Labour Party won the European Parliament elections by a mere 8,400 votes, a stark difference from the 39,000 vote difference registered in the 2022 general election and the 42,000 difference in the last EP elections of 2019.

Addressing supporters, Abela said that the PL shall be analysing the messages sent the party’s way, through this vote, with “great humility.”

This message was later echoed by two of the Labour Party’s elected MEPs, namely Alex Agius Saliba and Daniel Attard. After confirming his re-election, Agius Saliba called for his Labour Party to “react humbly” while analysing the results, while Attard said that the result must be “accepted with great humility.”

Grixti resigned from his position as a Member of Parliament (MP) after he was investigated by police in relation to the social benefits racket back in December 2021. It later emerged that Grixti was forced to resign by the Prime Minister itself once police investigations began into this disability benefits scandal.

This led to Grixti revoking his party membership altogether as his relationship with the Labour Party and its members top brass seemingly degenerated. This became publicly apparent after the former MP and medical practitioner called out his former colleague, former Health Minister Chris Fearne, online to question as to why abused medical certificates were not investigated by police “as if everything had been forgiven.” During this instance, Grixti had implied that police were being selective in who and what they investigated in relation to the social benefits racket.

Grixti and four others are facing charges of organising and forming part of a criminal organisation, defrauding the Department of Social Security of an amount in excess of €5,000, forging official documents that entitle holders to payment and knowingly making use of such documents.

The men are also to be charged with forging public documents and knowingly making use of them, making a false declaration to the public authorities and possession of items intended to be used for fraudulent purposes. They are pleading not guilty.