Labour’s deputy leader Toni Abela preferred to protect drug dealers rather than potential victims, according to PN deputy leader Simon Busuttil.
Speaking to supporters in Marsa, Dr Busuttil questioned why Labour leader Joseph Muscat had not yet told Dr Abela to resign.
“Dr Abela had clear and concrete proof but chose to keep his mouth shut,” said Dr Busuttil, referring to the case revealed in the past days by secret recordings of Dr Abela.
In the recordings, Dr Abela recalls a case where the president of a Labour Party club saw someone “cutting up a white block” in the kitchen. Dr Abela sacked the barman of the club but did not report the case to the police.
“Faced with a choice between protecting a trafficker and protecting youths who could have become drug victims, he chose to prefer the drug trafficker and his party’s interests,” said Dr Busuttil, adding that Dr Muscat and Labour’s other deputy leader both said they would have done otherwise.
Stressing that the PN always placed the interests of children first, Dr Busuttil warned Dr Muscat that, if he did not ask Dr Abela to leave, the country would pass judgement on his decision on March 9.
“Are these the new standards we are talking about?”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi urged young people to vote for the party they trusted most to provide them with jobs.
Asked about the leaders’ debate that took place at University this week, Dr Gonzi pointed out that another debate would also be taking place at the Malta College for Science and Technology. Dr Gonzi said it was “part of the democratic game” for Labour to pack the University debate hall with its supporters.
But he issued a sombre warning to students: “Regardless of whether you boo or clap, what really matters is whether you find a job after you graduate.”
He said the Nationalist Party always delivered good jobs when it was in power, while the Labour leader always gave the wrong advice to the country.
Dr Gonzi ended his intervention by encouraging supporters to “stand up” in these all-important last weeks of the campaign. “I said let’s go for it and we are going for it,” he said.