Opposition leader Alex Borg expressed his disappointment on Sunday that the appointment of a new Chief Justice, in recent days, has turned into a political game thanks to the actions of the Prime Minister of Malta, Robert Abela.

"It is a pity that in recent weeks, this important role has turned into a political game; not because of [the Nationalist Party], but because the Prime Minister decided to use it to try and earn political brownie points," Borg said.

He stated that while he has reiterated that this shouldn't be the case, he suspected from the start that Prime Minister Abela would lead this situation in this direction.

"This is the infantile leadership we have in this country," Alex Borg said, "[Prime Minister Abela] only thinks of how he can take advantage of a situation, and not how the Maltese people will benefit."

Borg repeated his criticisms that the Prime Minister, that instead of continuing on with discussions till both party leaders could agree on a name to be the next Chief Justice, Abela "decided to propose a name, then hamper the country's judiciary" in his attempts to impose that nomination over the Opposition in the final hour.

During a PN political activity in Mosta, the Opposition leader criticised that the Prime Minister publicized the name of a judge as the government's nomination to be the next Chief Justice before agreeing on this selection with Borg. The PN leader remarked that this because this appointment, for the first time, requires political consensus from both sides of Parliament via a two-thirds voting majority. He said that agreeing on this selection behind closed doors with the Opposition leader should have been especially prioritised instead of disclosing that Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera was government's preferred candidate to the general public.

On Wednesday, the Opposition blocked Scerri Herrera's nomination to be the next Chief Justice of Malta. The motion to appoint her as the head of Malta's judiciary, presented by the Prime Minister, failed to reach the required two-thirds parliamentary majority. The motion obtained 39 votes in favour and 34 against. 

Because of this, Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, as per the Constitution of Malta, stays on as Chief Justice till his replacement is agreed upon.

The Opposition's decision to block this nomination on the same day outgoing Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti reached retirement age was not done simply to vote against the Labour government. On Sunday, Borg said that he and the PN parliamentary group voted against Scerri Herrera's nomination out of respect towards the judiciary, as well as democratic and constitutional processes, and hence, it could not vote in favour of a proposed name that hadn't been agreed upon.

Alex Borg declared on Sunday that he never raised Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera's name to the Prime Minister during internal discussions on who should succeed Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti. Borg said this in the context that during Parliament on Wednesday, PM Abela told the House that "the choice for Scerri Herrera to be the next Chief Justice was [initially] Alex Borg's choice as much as it was mine" - Alex Borg had immediately labelled this claim as a "blatant lie."

On Sunday, Borg challenged the Prime Minister to repeat this declaration in public, outside Parliament's walls, where he is not shielded by parliamentary privilege.

Alex Borg said that he, the Prime Minister, and the President of Malta continue to meet to discuss this matter.

On this, the Nationalist Party leader thanked President Myriam Spiteri Debono for accepting his request for her to intervene in these talks, and act as a guarantor between him and the Prime Minister.

Alex Borg said on Sunday that after the Prime Minister "lied" in Parliament and revealed bits of their confidential discussions out to the public, he "cannot trust him alone." Borg added that Prime Minister Abela was also untruthful in Parliament on Wednesday when he claimed that Borg had met former PN MP Jason Azzopardi to discuss the Chief Justice appointment; PM Abela had said that he had rejected the initial name suggested by Borg that was put forward to him by Jason Azzopardi and that he will not allow third parties outside Parliament manipulate national proceedings. Borg on Sunday noted that this was also a lie, and that he is yet to meet Jason Azzopardi.

"I couldn't trust him, nor with the lies he said in Parliament to meet him alone," Borg said.

Borg said that the Chief Justice role is one of the most important seats safeguarded by the Constitution of Malta and hence, it is important for politicians to guarantee that the next Chief Justice is a person of good character who will respect the rule of law and who can be held accountable.

Borg stated that the Prime Minister will not steamroll over him and that he can make his own decisions, with the rest of his team who he said he fully trusts.

On this matter, he concluded that what is said in internal meetings between him, the Prime Minister, and President Spiteri Debono will remain confidential from his end - no matter what.

Alex Borg pledges to conduct and publish labour market study in first 100 days as Prime Minister

Alex Borg stated on Sunday that if he is elected as the Prime Minister of Malta, he will conduct and publish a labour market study on the Maltese context within his first 100 days in office.

In reference to an IMF report published the day prior, Borg noted that this report stated "basically what [the PN has] been saying or years: that the economic model chosen by the PL government is not sustainable."

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) found that Malta's labour-intensive economic growth model is approaching its limits and has called for the country to heed a strategic shift toward productivity-driven expansion.

"We cannot keep going in this direction," he said.

The PN leader said that around 100,000 workers have immigrated to the Maltese islands in the past 13 years, and due to this sustained migratory influx, Malta's population density, as also reported by the IMF report, is 15 times higher than all other EU countries.

He acknowledged that the Maltese government has said in the past that it had conducted a labour market study on the country, though this was never published.

Borg said that the Nationalist Party will continue working for a better Malta and Gozo, for everyone to reap the benefits - regardless of party allegiance, age, or any other category. He said that through PN's policies, "no-one will be left behind."