Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech has stated that this morning's court ruling - which declared that the State Advocate holds the power to act independently of government direction to recover the funds involved in the fraudulent hospitals concession - is a victory for all the people.

"This morning's victory is not a win for the Nationalists, but a win for the people. This victory is for everyone," Grech said.

He described that in this context, "the people" refers to PN supporters, Labour Party voters, people who don't vote, as well as people who have lost faith in or don't care about politics.

"There is no other interpretation here: today, Robert Abela lost and the people won," Grech said.

He continued that the Nationalist Party is committed to keep fighting on behalf of the people and that it will strive to continue doing so, even if elected to govern the Maltese islands.

"If it wasn't for this action we took, Robert Abela, like his predecessor, would have stuck to the side of the corrupt - as he did in the case of Amanda Muscat and Clayton Bartolo," Grech told listeners.

The Opposition leader opened up on his and his party's reasoning behind opening the case. He openly questioned why the State Advocate couldn't proceed to retrieve the people's €400 million from the Vitals-Steward hospital deal, even though months have already passed since a number of people have been criminally accused of committing fraud and stealing public funds.

"The people have a right to get their money back. We are going to keep fighting," he said.

Bernard Grech said that following this ruling, it is vital for the State Advocate to take the necessary steps to begin retrieving these public funds, especially since "[the accused] have been trying to cover their tracks for months."

"At the moment, the ball is in the State Advocate's court," Grech added.

During his discourse, Grech shared a message to disgruntled Labour Party supporters: that this morning's court ruling was a triumph for them also and that they should attend the Nationalist Party's protest tonight in Valletta at 6pm, in front of the Parliament.

He called for all these people to join this protest this evening, saying that "likes and shares on Facebook aren't enough, we want you to be there with us."

He labelled this protest as an opportunity for citizens to celebrate this morning's "historic" ruling and for them to share their voice on present matters, including the call for Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri to be sacked from his ministerial position for his involvement in giving Amanda Muscat her "fake" consultancy job.

Grech added that Camilleri was the one to give the Minister's wife this lucrative "phantom job," even though she was and is unqualified for this role and "did not go to work" either, according to the Opposition leader.

The PN leader remarked that in contrast to his party and himself, Prime Minister Robert Abela has continued to defend fraudsters and the corrupt, thus reiterating the Nationalist Party's current description over the incumbent government to be one of "only fraud, frequent fraud" (frodi biss, frodi spiss).

Speaking on NET FM, he remarked that the present political tension across the Maltese islands is a result of the Prime Minister. Grech said that "all that Robert Abela has left is his weapon of lies," before repeating that the government is embracing these lies but that Maltese citizens must have faith as "the weapon that is the truth is stronger."

Referring to unsure voters who are craving for change, Grech stated that for these citizens, the only change they should aspire for is a change in government - specifically a PN government.

He said that the PN has proved itself over recent years that it has "always been on the people's side." As an example of this, Grech referenced how his party fought for a public inquiry to be opened to investigate the death of Jean Paul Sofia from its position as the Opposition.

"When necessary, we went to Court. When the people won, the people only won because the PN was on its side," he said, "Let's make this change happen; we can make this country normal again."

When describing his party's vision in government, Grech mentioned bolstering healthcare, introducing new economic sectors into the country, and described this scenario as an assurance "to have a government on the side of the people," rather than a government that monetarily benefits those within its closed circles.

"To guarantee change, we require government to have the political will to bring about such changes," Grech said.

PL replies: Bernard Grech does not want to learn against populism and lies following the court appeal

The PN has the same problem of lying and turns things the way it pleases, the Labour Party said in reply. The Court of Appeal judgement this morning was clear where it rejected claims by the Opposition Leader and appealed for prudence when it claimed on the provisions of the State Advocate and including that of every Member of Parliament.

Today the Court rejected a request by the Nationalist Party for the State Advocate to proceed against the Prime Minister and present or past exponents of the Government. The only action the State Advocate can take according to the Court of Appeal is that which the Government has already directed the same State Advocate to take by suing Steward before International Arbitration, the PL said.

No spin and other misinformation are going to change this fact. The Opposition's only interest is of acting in a partisan manner and not to strive for the people's interest, the PL said. The Labour government hopes that for once, the Opposition will not be populist and disrupt what the government did immediately after the court ruling on the hospitals' concession, suing Steward Healthcare to recover every cent due.

It is obvious that the Nationalist Party uses dangerous tactics, so much so that it was even able to lie in Court under oath, the PL said. The Court absolutely dismissed the false declaration given under oath by Grech when he said that Dr Robert Abela was found guilty of deceit and collusion with Steward.

It would be better for the Opposition to recognise the national interest and understand what the Court told it not to continue being populist, the PL concluded.