The Nationalist Party has said that the first 100 days of the “new” Labour government simply marks the continuation of “13 years of failure”, as nothing has changed between the general election and today.

“Today, the Labour Party will try to sell its first 100 days of this legislature as a new beginning. But for the Maltese and Gozitan people, nothing has changed, because the problems people faced before 30 May are the same problems they face today — with the same excuses from the same tired Government that has been in power for 13 years,” the PN said.

“This is a government carrying the sins of its predecessor. People have now realised just how far their own aspirations are from the project Robert Abela had in mind,” the party added.

The PN said that in 100 days the country has again experienced prolonged power cuts, Mater Dei Hospital remains under pressure and overcrowded, the government’s digital systems failed, and the situation on Malta’s roads has continued to deteriorate.

“Families are losing more time in traffic while the Government remains without a serious, long-term mobility plan — but apparently the most important thing is that Robert Abela has told us that many Maltese people now have a boat,” the PN said.

The party said that “immense pressure” on people as a result of the government’s economic model has continued to be felt, particularly as, the party said, Robert Abela has “made it clear that there is no intention to control population growth.”

“On the contrary, according to Abela, the population will continue growing by 14,000 people every year. This is the same model that survey after survey has shown is driving us towards a wall,” the PN said.

The party said that cost of living continued to squeeze families, and that the government is also creating serious doubts about the new national carrier KM Malta Airlines as it has not published its accounts.

The PN said that for more than half of these first 100 days of this Government, the country was following a trial concerning an assassination which the same Labour Government was found to have enabled through the creation of a culture of impunity.

“During the trial, we heard about the obscenities taking place at Castille — from naked people to criminals walking in through the front door as though they owned the place. Some of those who were at Castille then are still there today — and one of them is now the Prime Minister of our country. We now have a verdict which acquitted Yorgen Fenech of the charges relating to this assassination,” the PN said.

“This is the same Government that granted a pardon to the middleman, the same Government that met criminals at Castille, and the same Government that, for years after the assassination, allowed Daphne Caruana Galizia to be vilified and allowed candles and flowers placed in her memory to be repeatedly removed. This is the same Government. And each and every one of the Government’s 42 Members of Parliament today carries the weight of this assassination,” the party added.

The PN said that in its first 100 days, “Robert Abela once again chose to place partisan interests above the national interest and refused a parliamentary debate, requested by the Opposition, on the implementation of the recommendations of the Public Inquiry.”

Further evidence of the extent to which his interests come before those of the country emerged when a judge sent a sworn letter to Abela’s Cabinet concerning the appointment of the Chief Justice, accusing him of giving greater importance to political considerations than to the interests of the people, the PN said.

The PN said that it continues to insist on justice for Daphne, for her family and for the entire nation, and added that it will continue working for a free country, a country that is not afraid.

The PN also said that it will continue insisting on a government that works for the people — a government that plans for them and that it will continue to be an Opposition that demands accountability, that places quality of life before propaganda, and that serves as the voice of the people in the face of a Government that continues to forget them.

“Above all, these first 100 days have highlighted how Robert Abela’s Labour Government failed to implement important legislative reforms that it had promised to enact during the first 100 days of its ‘new’ Government,” the PN said.

“On 2 July, at the conclusion of Labour’s Extraordinary General Conference following the last election, Abela promised seven legislative reforms that were supposedly going to be implemented by today. Yet he has not even managed to deliver half of them. These include IVF reform, legal protection for parks and open spaces, reform of planning appeals and the establishment of the National Commission for Equality and Human Rights,” it added.

“Throughout all this, we have seen an absent Prime Minister. A Prime Minister on holiday. And while Labour is now focused on celebrating, people are still waiting for these laws to be introduced. Just as they are still asking to have electricity in their homes, to avoid being stuck in traffic and to be able to afford to buy a home,” the party continued.

The PN said that this is not a celebration of 100 days of a new Government — because the problems people faced before 30 May are still there.

“This is a celebration of another 100 days of a Government that, over 13 years, created new problems and has made it clear that it has neither the plan nor the will to solve them. At the end of these 100 days of a ‘new’ Government, Labour is marking the continuation of 13 years – and three legislatures – of failure,” the party said.