The Mqabba Deputy Mayor Jonathan Dingli is under fire again, this time for saying that the Nationalist Party leader should prepare himself to be admitted to Mount Carmel Hospital, the PN said in a statement on Monday evening.

Dingli, who was elected to the Mqabba local council on the Labour Party’s ticket, has already found himself in hot water after saying that women “like to be beaten” and he is now in the spotlight again for his remark in reaction to an interview with PN leader Alex Borg.

“Today, in an attempt to insult the Leader of the Opposition, he has used mental illness in a deeply offensive and derogatory manner,” the PN said of Dingli.

“In a comment, this time reacting to an interview with Leader of the Nationalist Party Alex Borg, Dingli told the PN Leader to ‘prepare himself for Ward 10’,” the PN said.

Ward 10 was once regarded as the most challenging ward at Mount Carmel Hospital and was in fact closed many years ago, the party observed.

The PN condemned “in the strongest possible terms” Dingli’s remarks.

“As a Deputy Mayor, he holds a position of responsibility. The PN expects a clear apology from him and also calls on Labour Leader Robert Abela to condemn these comments and take the necessary steps, rather than remaining silent as he did when the same councillor claimed that women ‘like to be beaten’,” the party said.

“It is evident that Jonathan Dingli has learned nothing. This time, following his attack on women, he has turned his fire on patients hospitalised at Mount Carmel Hospital, using them in a cynical attempt to score political points,” it continued.

It noted that when he had made the comments about women, the Labour Mayor of Mqabba, Grace Zerafa, also chose not to condemn him.

“The PN now asks what position she will take after he has now insulted persons with mental health conditions,” the party said.

The PN appealed for greater sensitivity towards all those who are experiencing mental health difficulties. At a time when awareness of mental health issues should be higher than ever, such language can never be justified under any circumstances.

The statement was signed by PN MPs Ian Vassallo and Bernice Bonello, who are the Shadow Minister for Preventive and Primary Care and Shadow Minister for Youth and Local Government respectively, together with Liam Sciberras, the President of the Kulleġġ Kunsillieri Lokali Partit Nazzjonalista (KKLPN), and Emvin Bartolo, the PN’s Director of Local Councillors.