Party leaders used speech time during separate political campaigns to discuss security challenges in Malta and Gozo and criticize each other for their efforts or lack thereof in security efforts. .
Security challenges are on the public agenda after a series of violent attacks, deadly accidents and extreme judicial delays.
In just a week, a Turkish woman was killed after a man deliberately ran her over her, and a group of youths in Valletta attacked another group of boys, some of whom were taken to hospital.
Meanwhile, a court acquitted Sion Grech, who was found dead in a field in 2005, on murder charges. It took him 18 years before the final sentence was handed down.
Opposition leader Bernard Greck said this apparent lack of security was not due to a lack of police, but to a lack of people to lead the country and make decisions.
“I want a society where justice reigns. […] It’s a place where people feel safe,” he said.
He added, “Even babies in the womb need peace of mind,” prompting a small round of applause.
Early in PN’s political activism, Congressman and criminal attorney Joe Giglio said the number of gratuitous and violent attacks was increasing daily.
“The number and incidence of attacks confirm that we deserve a better state of security,” he said.
Giglio added that 2022 will see a high number of road deaths, injuries and workplace accidents. “The lack of security is not just at work, it’s all over the street and home.”
He reacted to this sentiment after Robert Abella told journalists that he was uncomfortable with suddenly allowing his daughter to walk through Valletta alone after an altercation among the capital’s youth had left several hospitalized. He said how he agreed.
For Giglio, Abela’s statement meant that PN was right and that we had never committed this level of criminal activity.
Meanwhile, in a Labor Party political campaign, Prime Minister Robert Abella has criticized his comments that Malta’s courts should consider reviewing sentencing policies to impose harsher penalties for some crimes. , blamed PN.
“Why are opposition parties and certain members so forcefully opposed to this message? There are several lawmakers who are criminal defense attorneys who go to Congress to argue that they should.”