Robert Abela has found himself cornered, and just as he always does when he's under pressure, instead of shouldering responsibility for his own failures, he's shamelessly gone on the offensive - attacking the man who gave Malta a European, democratic, and stable country: Eddie Fenech Adami, the Nationalist Party said Thursday

The same Robert Abela who remained completely silent and inactive on Manoel Island for five whole years is now throwing mud at someone who has been out of politics for years, the PN added.

The PN was noting what Abela said in connection with the Manoel Island controversy, saying that he has to solve a mess created in the past, a clear reference to Fenech Adami's administration. The PN has also had a change of position on the matter, given that last week it said the contract should be honoured and, yesterday, saying there is still chance that Manoel Island is converted into a national park.

Abela and his Government have been in power for 12 years and never once took responsibility to ensure the terms of the Manoel Island concession were properly honoured, the PN said Thursday.

As he tries to distract from the fact that Labour, while in Opposition, voted in favour of the concession back in 2000 - even going so far in Parliament yesterday as to falsely claim they hadn't - Robert Abela has now launched a furious attack full of false allegations against the Prime Minister under whose leadership this contract, approved unanimously by Parliament, was signed, the PN added.

First, Abela claimed nothing could be done because it would cost the country millions. Then, he made a U-turn, aligning himself with PN Leader Bernard Grech, announcing that the government would review the concession to see if any terms were breached.

Now, he has gone a step further - yesterday he attacked the developers, suddenly recalling that, back when he was a lawyer for the Planning Authority, he supposedly halted the consortium for acting as if it could do whatever it wanted.

The public knows the truth. They know who truly moved Malta forward - and who held it back. And they know that, if it hadn't been for the pressure mounted by the PN led by Bernard Grech, Robert Abela would still be completely silent on Manoel Island, the PN said.

This is one of the highest levels of hypocrisy ever seen in Maltese politics.

If Robert Abela wants to be fair with the people, he should acknowledge that realities have changed in the last 25 years and show some sensitivity towards the residents around Manoel Island, who are fed up with constant development surrounding their homes - just as even his own MPs have told him, before he conveniently tasked them with analysing the concession to shut them up, the PN said.

Robert Abela alone bears the responsibility for what happens to Manoel Island in the years ahead. Not Eddie Fenech Adami, not the Opposition, and not anyone else.

And since he's already made one U-turn in recent hours, the PN now calls on him to not shy away from making another: declare that he also agrees with the Opposition and with the 29,000 citizens who signed the petition calling for Manoel Island to be turned into a national park for families to enjoy, the PN said.

PL replies

Prime Minister's Robert Abela, and the Labour Government's, only agenda, regarding Manoel Island is that of the people - nothing more, and nothing less, the Labour Party said in reply.

The Labour government will not make good, through a multi-million compensation, to the consortium, at the expense of the Maltese workers and families.

That could well be others' agenda. Considering the suspicious, sudden change of heart that others have had on this project, there could be more than meets the eye, the PL said.

Once again, it shall be Prime Minister Robert Abela to address this challenge, as he has done in previous occasions, for the benefit of Malta and its people, the statement concluded.