Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1510560
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 OCTOBER 2023 8 INTERVIEW Delia's sweet victory and a damning judgment that should lead to government resigning AN appeals court judgment officially annulled Steward Health Care's con- tract to manage three state hospitals in Malta and Gozo. It was the final stamp on a deal described by the court as fraudulent and borne out of collusion. The court's verdict represents a sweet victory for Nationalist MP Adrian Delia. On 19 February 2018 he filed a court case against the government and Vitals asking for the contract to be cancelled and for the three hospitals to be returned to the public. He won and when I sit down with him in the aftermath of the court ruling, he tells me that such a scathing decision by the courts should lead to mass resigna- tions from government. "That's what happens in a normal country. With a sentence like this, where the government is guilty of conspiracy against its own people and country, that is what happens," Delia says. He insists the Nationalist Party is not on a witch-hunt to score political points, saying those tasked with defending the country's interests have failed their duty. But it's not just elected officials who are to blame, he tells me. "How can the At- torney General be found guilty of collu- sion and keep her job? She should resign immediately, when she is found responsi- ble of something like this. The same with the CEO of Indis. How come no one is shouldering any kind of responsibility?" Despite the string of allegations and sto- ries which have emerged on the Labour government, the PN has yet to make sig- nificant inroads with the electorate. Delia says the country needs to pass through a natural political cycle but feels the sentiment among people is changing. "Although it seems like a very long time, we are 10 years into the Labour govern- ment. Historically, people in Malta seem to want a decade of the same govern- ment, but now people are getting fed up. What happened in this case is shaking things up," he insists. Nationalist MP Adrian Delia's five- year court saga to rescind the Steward Healthcare hospitals deal came to a definite end last week. He won the battle and, in the aftermath, sat down with KARL AZZOPARDI to discuss the impact of the court decision.