Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1455666
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 FEBRUARY 2022 NEWS ILLEJLA FUQ IN NET U ONLINE FID-9:00PM MATTHEW AGIUS PN leader Grech drew parallels between messages of support and tributes to the Ukrainian people placed in front of the Russian Embassy, and the clear- ing of the memorial to murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Gal- izia. Speaking at a rally in Xagh- ra, Gozo yesterday, Grech said he had appealed to the prime minister, asking him to refuse to grant Maltese passports to Russian citizens, but observed that 24 hours later the Prime Minister had only said that he would follow the EU's direc- tion. "We must show that the Mal- tese have values and support other peoples," Grech said. "We cannot remain indifferent, we cannot remain cold, frozen before pain, death, before the invasion suffered by a people like us, human and European. "I appeal to the Prime Minis- ter, soften your heart. In poli- tics there is a need to feel the pain of other people and offer them support." Measures for Gozo If elected Prime Minister, Grech said, he would build a new MCAST campus for Gozo, increase the capacity of the Mgarr terminal, as well as commission and publish stud- ies on alternative transport links to Gozo. Amongst the other electoral promises made by the PN lead- er are equal pay for residents of Malta and Gozo, the construc- tion of a new MCAST campus for Gozo and the setting up of a regional council for Gozo. Grech has promised to end the Steward Healthcare agree- ment over Gozo's hospital and commission a new 400 bed general hospital on Malta's sis- ter island. Grech bound himself to pro- vide investment which would render tangible results for Gozo, comparing it to Labour's unkept promises. "The St Jo- seph Home is a monument to a Labour government that starts something and never finishes it," Grech said. "It's like a bill- board that everyone can see." Grech told the crowd that it was the PN which built Mal- ta's financial services and tour- ism industries. "The PL found them ready. And that's what we want. When the farmer sows the seeds, he sows them for everybody. The rain falls on everybody." The PN leader railed against what he described as the en- dangering of Malta's reputa- tion and its safety. Addressing Prime Minister Robert Abela directly, he said "be ashamed and go hide your face." Grech also said he would be using the "politics of log- ic and common sense, based on research, on facts and on what the people are feeling," quipping that "common sense doesn't seem to be very com- mon in this government." "Abela has big internal prob- lems, shadows of the past catching up with him even in daylight. Once the mask falls, the decay starts to show," Grech said. Grech: removal of banners at Russian embassy, like clearing of Caruana Galizia memorial On the campaign trail: Bernard Grech and wife Annemarie arrive in Gozo for the day's canvassing. Grech later addressed a crowd of suppporters in the village of Xaghra