Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544245
PRIME Minister Robert Abela speaks as if a general election is round the corner and yet, while his words tease, they stop short of calling the date. Meanwhile, election candi- dates are in full swing printing leaflets; ministers sprucing up their constituency offices; and billboard companies preparing the ground work for what feels is an imminent appointment. Abela has all the time from Easter Monday until 1 May to make up his mind, if the elec- tion is to be held anywhere be- tween now and the first week of June. If this period lapses, the next plausible appointment will, in all likeliness, be March 2027—the natural end of this administration and one that allows the people to savour the benefits of government's final budget in October this year. But if an election is held now, several bills, decisions and plans will be left in abeyance for a new administration to pick up, if at all. MaltaToday took a look at the more salient unfinished business if a spring election is in the offing. SEE PAGES 9 TO 11 YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY 5 APRIL 2026 • ISSUE 1379 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Staying the course Spoofing Joseph Portelli Happy Easter MaltaToday wishes its readers a happy Easter JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Labour MP Carmelo Abela on Donald Trump, libel and his political career He created a fake Joseph Portelli account and some politicians fell for it INTERVIEW MT2 Former cannabis authority chief calls sponsorship a contradiction maltatoday €2.20 Unfinished business of a spring election Prime Minister Robert Abela (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt THE former chief executive of the cannabis authority has weighed in on the con- troversy involving a chil- dren's sports sponsorship deal, calling it a "contradic- tion". Mariella Dimech, for- mer CEO of the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC), says the deal shows a "lack of under- standing by those in charge" of what harm reduction means. A psychotherapist by pro- fession and a former Caritas drug rehab coordinator, Di- mech was ARUC's first ex- ecutive chairperson when the authority was first set up in January 2022. She was re- moved from the post 10 months later citing policy differences. CONTINUES ON PAGE 4 PAGES 12-13