Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1438848
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 DECEMBER 2021 2 NEWS A worker at the Ħas-Saptan fuel storage facility has died in a cherry picker accident on Tuesday. The accident happened at 12:15pm. The worker was carry- ing out blasting work in one of the tanks of the fuel plant when he was crushed between the ceiling and platform. All other workers have been es- corted out of the facility to pre- vent further accidents. The victim was a 46-year-old man from Gambia. He does not work with Enemed but was hired by a private contractor. Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zam- mit has been appointed to the case. Police investigations are ongoing. The Occupational Health and Safety Authority has been notified of the case and has started inves- tigations into the cause of the ac- cident. Worker dies in cherry picker accident PN believes silent majority will ditch Labour on election day File photo of the fuel storage at Ħas Saptan NICOLE MEILAK THE Nationalist Party still holds faith in a silent majority that will vote PN on election day, despite polls indicating a 40,000-vote majority in the La- bour Party's favour. During a press conference on Tuesday, PN candidate Justin Schembri said that "the pub- lic is capable of reaching their conclusions" after several La- bour MPs were embroiled in scandals this week. Education Minister Justyne Caruana was found to have breached ethics when award- ing a direct order contract to her close friend Daniel Bog- danovic, while MP Ian Castaldi Paris said he will not contest the coming election after a tax probe into his financial affairs identified hundres of thou- sands in undeclared wealth. Meanwhile, Labour MP Silvio Grixti resigned from parlia- ment after police interrogat- ed him over an investigation linked to probable fraudulent sickness certificates. "Despite survey numbers, we have confirmation that Abe- la cannot control his govern- ment," Schembri said. Rebekah Cilia, a PN candidate, added that there are people who still have faith in the National- ist Party despite what various political surveys have indicated about the PN's standing. "Maybe they are not speak- ing out enough, but when push comes to shove they won't stand for these scandals […] People are talking quietly, but on the day they will speak out," she said. PN leader Bernard Grech had brushed aside recent poor poll- ing results in a similar manner, saying that a "silent majority" will turn out for the party on election day. "There are 80,000 people who are not speaking out in these surveys. They are not regular- ly quizzed, but they will have their say on election day," Grech said He passed the comment after a MaltaToday survey found a 16-point gap in support ratings for the PL and PN. At the same conference, Nationalist Party candidate Charles Azzopardi criticized the Labour Party's handlings of recent scandals. "The yardstick isn't the same, not even for them," he said, referring to dif- ferent measures taken against politicians. Rebekah Cilia added that the Justyne Caruana scandal in particular put the wider educa- tion sector in a bad light. "The sector has suffered through a lot of turbulence because of government shortcomings," she said. Justin Schembri similarly said that keeping Justyne Caruana in cabinet sends a bad signal politically. "These things mean you can move forward in life without the necessary qualifi- cations". "Justyne Caruana's place is not in the Education Minis- try. Abela should use the same yardstick he used with other ministers and kick her out," he continued. Schembri referred to how Abela suspended Rosianne Cutajar from her parliamen- tary secretary duties after the Standards Commissioner found that she breached eth- ics when brokering a property deal with businessman Yorgen Fenech. Fenech is currently being charged with masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. 'When push comes to shove [people] won't stand for these scandals ... on the day they will speak out,' PN candidate says PN candidates Charles Azzopardi, Justin Schembri and Rebekah Cilia