Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544245
LABOUR MP and former foreign affairs minister Carmelo Abela doesn't believe the US President Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. It is a straightforward answer that reflects the sentiment of many level-headed voters, who could not understand why Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg nominat- ed Trump for the peace prize last year. Commenting on Malta's rela- tionship with Trump's United States, Abela believes that it is in Malta's best interest to have good relations with everyone. But this, he insists, does not mean Malta can't be critical when needed. The former home affairs minister tells me Malta cannot realistically invest in defence capabilities to combat potential strikes as the ex- penditure would be astronomical. He says the army has adequate resources when it comes to search and rescue, immigration, and tack- ling criminal activities on the seas, but the country can't say it has the capability to defend itself against an attack. "We wouldn't be realistic if we think we alone can defend our- selves by investing billions of eu- ros," he says. Abela will be contesting the gen- eral election once again despite having been left on the backbench- es throughout the current legis- lature. The prime minister's deci- sion was motivated by the claims lawyer Jason Azzopardi had made that Abela was complicit in the 2010 HSBC heist. Abela had filed for libel and won the case with the court awarding him €7,000 in damages. I ask Abela about this case and the reaction it generated from some Labour exponents, who called for harsher penalties. But Abela tells me he never used the case to call for harsher libel penalties or the return of criminal libel. Carmelo Abela: 'I don't think Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize' Labour MP Carmelo Abela minces no words when speaking about US President Donald Trump and the EU's approach towards him. A former home and foreign affairs minister, he speaks candidly with Matthew Farrugia about Malta's defence capabilities and his absence from Cabinet since the 2022 election 6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 APRIL 2026 INTERVIEW