Opposition MP Ryan Callus yesterday accused of the government of double standards, explaining the Prime Minister had said he did not want to go to court over Café Premier but when it came to the parliamentary seats that rightfully belonged to the PN, he had no problem appealing the court decision.

Also, Dr Muscat had said that Café Premier had to close because of the danger posed by the gas tanks, but he had no qualms about stationing a gas tanker at Marsaxlokk, endangering the whole population.

When it came to meritocracy, he said, the government had failed. Positions of trust, official appointments and even ambassadorships had not been awarded for competence but based on people’s friendship with the PL.

Mr Callus recalled that in 2011, Dr Muscat had accused the government of being heartless and had organised a mass protest, when the price of fuel was lower than it is today, even though the price of oil was higher.

Accountability was non-existent, with ministers and government MPs not answering for their actions. This had culminated in the Café Premier scandal, for which the PM was directly responsible.

Michael Gonzi (PN) complained of the lack of collaboration between health centres and private GPs. A study carried out by PwC Malta, Dr Gonzi said, showed that two-thirds of primary care was carried out by GPs, yet the government had still not coordinated patient records and operations. This was a basic approach which would cut waiting lists.

While progress had been made on some lists, there was relative stagnation in others, with patients in pain waiting for months to be seen. The large number of self-referred patients to Mater Dei’s emergency section needed to be studied. Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne said that this partly stemmed from the availability of health centre services which were now being extended.