Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1192401
NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS OPPOSITION leader Adrian Delia has urged the Maltese to rally to the flag and "forget Mal- ta Tagħna Lkoll" – the Labour electoral slogan, and instead "think of Malta Aħna Lkoll (Malta is all of us)." Delia was interviewed on NET TV yesterday, telling presenter Angelo Micallef that the country was going through "par- ticular, extraordinary, circumstances." The PN was proposing a new blueprint for poli- tics which was "impar- tial, honest, democratic and just," Delia said. "There was a time when we had said Malta was sick and needed medi- cine. Right now Malta is not sick, it is broken… almost irremediably so. What is needed? What is broken?" he asked. He accused the current government of break- ing what it found when it moved in. "What was the poison that allowed a number of individu- als to seize a party and a government and lead to government tools being used, not for the com- mon good or the good of the party but for a few individuals?" he asked. The Prime Minister was right to bow to the mounting pressure from all sides and take a step back, he said. "Now suddenly the tone has changed and we have the two main contenders agreeing on the issues of the Police Commission- er, the AG and the Vitals Global Healthcare deal." But Delia pointed out that both of them were in government with the Prime Minister, despite their overnight about- turn, from saying they had blind confidence in the Commissioner of Po- lice to saying that they wanted to fire him. "I don't feel they truly believe this, but it is something related to convenience" Delia attacked, am- ongst other things, the practice of governments appointing "persons of trust", who often do not merit the position they occupy. He said he wanted civil society to have a voice and have journalists and back- benchers feel free to criticise government. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 DECEMBER 2019 Delia: PN wants 'new blueprint in politics' MASSIMO COSTA BOTH the Labour and Nationalist parties suf- fered a large drop in dona- tions in this month's fund- raising marathons, failing to match the amounts col- lected last year by a sub- stantial margin. Labour's telethon, held on Friday, raised €516,896, or €286,278 less than the €803,174 raised in 2018. The Nationalist Par- ty managed to collect €405,709 last Sunday, a decrease of €264,923 over the €670,632 donated last year. The two parties also raised less than they did in 2017, when the PL col- lected €611,497 and the PN €620,319. The drop in the funds raised comes amid an unprecedented political crisis – brought on by rev- elations emerging from investigations into Daph- ne Caruana Galizia's mur- der – which has rocked Joseph Muscat's adminis- tration. The upheaval has also led to businesses and in- vestment taking a notice- able hit due to a climate of uncertainty. A GRTU survey pub- lished last week showed that people have in the past few weeks become more wary of parting with their money, with 65% of businesses reporting less sales. The study also indicated that 46% of respondents would be "reconsidering, postponing or cancelling their investment plans" for the next year. The real estate market has also been impacted, with developers' lobby boss Sandro Chetcuti tell- ing sister newspaper Busi- nessToday that property sales have fallen signifi- cantly. mcosta@mediatoday.com.mt Party fundraisers suffer drastic €250,000 drop Opposition leader Adrian Delia