The Nationalist Party has slammed Prime Minister Robert Abela for “exploiting” the death of Karl Gouder in a political speech on Sunday, saying that the PL leader’s behaviour is “disgusting, dangerous, and irresponsible”
In his Sunday speech, Abela said that the PN had set a “trap” for the PL when the party invited him and senior party officials for a coffee. From there, Abela said, that PN had reported him as being implicated in the death of an individual, and he had been summoned to testify in recent days.
Abela did not name the individual concerned, but the PN said in a statement that he was referring to Karl Gouder – a former PN MP and the head of the party’s media wing, who passed away tragically earlier this year.
In a statement issued soon after Abela’s speech, the PN said that it “strongly and categorically condemns Robert Abela's speech during a Labour Party political event, where he exploited the tragic death of the beloved Karl Gouder to save himself and divert attention from the scandals perpetrated by his Government.”
“Robert Abela’s behaviour is disgusting, dangerous, and irresponsible, aimed solely at deflecting attention from the corruption he and his Ministers are drowning in,” the PN said.
The party said that Abela “is willing to discard anyone and exploit everything and everyone, including the tragic death of the beloved Karl Gouder, to cling to the seat of power. Robert Abela shows no respect for anyone, not even for the deceased and their families.”
The PN reiterated its full solidarity with the family of the late Karl Gouder and once again urged those of goodwill who have relevant information to pass it directly to the Magistrate leading the inquiry.
“The PN will not allow Robert Abela to use a tragic death to divert attention from his Government's scandals,” it added.
In a statement issued in response, the PL said that what is truly scandalous is that where maturity should have prevailed, Grech had resorted to “dangerous and vindictive tactics to try and take political advantage.”
The Prime Minister, the PL said, had mentioned what is a fact: that after being invited for a coffee at the PN’s HQ, Bernard Grech reported the Prime Minister to the inquiring magistrate and tried to implicate him in the death of a person.
The party noted that Abela had been careful not to mention any names in his speech out of respect of the family, but it was the PN itself which had identified which inquiry Abela was referring to – “thereby confirming what the Prime Minister said.”
“Our country should never stoop to this level,” the party concluded.