Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1521709
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 JUNE 2024 NEWS Muscat will always overshadow him' mer PM on One Radio when the charges against him were already known. 'Rolling back the years in how we do politics' Another MP who wished to stay anonymous said he feels "torn" about the situation. "Everyone is presumed inno- cent, and I do feel some have been indicted and embroiled in this case for nothing. The timing was bad in my opinion, and I do feel the inquiring mag- istrate could have waited a bit longer to finish the report, but at the same time with all the boxes of evidence which have been presented, and after read- ing sections of the inquiry there is a lot of damning evidence," they said. "While the timing is controversial, at the same time who am I to say how the magis- trate conducts an inquiry." They said their biggest con- cern is how the big parties have approached the election campaign. "We, and I mean both us and the PN, seemed to have rolled back the years when it comes to how we approached the election," they said. "We are constantly slinging mud at each other and have sunk to a new low. Where are the par- ties in discussing local and Eu- ropean issues? This has been completely ignored." Another MP seemed both- ered with Abela's criticism against the PN for "only speak- ing about the inquiry." "He keeps on attacking the PN for only speaking about the Vitals inquiry, which they are, but the reality is that he is do- ing the same thing," they said. Polls have consistently put the PL well in the lead to cap- ture the most votes in the Eu- ropean Parliament election with estimates putting the gap at anywhere between 20,000 and 27,000 votes. However, at the start of the year, the PL's fortunes were hampered by higher absten- tion among its voter base. The expectation of a Muscat can- didature had rekindled enthu- siasm among Labour voters, which waned when it became clearer that the former PM would not be running. However, Muscat's arraign- ment is likely to have trig- gered enthusiasm once more among the PL's rank and file. The bigger question is wheth- er the Vitals inquiry findings, Muscat's arraignment and the scenes witnessed outside the courthouse last Tuesday have turned off middle of the road voters.