Malta never imposed a full lockdown during the pandemic, but rather two quasi-lockdowns in March 2020 and March 2021, with schools, businesses and entertainment forced to close. 

Most restrictions have been removed, but some – like vaccine certificates for travel and masks at schools – remain. 

Grech started off his PN leadership with a strong stance in favour of COVID-19 restrictions, insisting in March 2021 that the government should have reacted to a spike in cases by calling a public health emergency, which would have given Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci extraordinary powers.

Although this wasn’t a direct call for lockdown, Malta was plunged into a quasi-lockdown the last time Gauci was given such powers in 2020. 

However, the PN’s tune changed dramatically in subsequent months, with Grech denouncing vaccine certificate as “illogical and discriminatory” and even warning that masks are “harming children’s faces”. 

During yesterday’s debate, he said that “if you want a dictatorship, then vote for Robert Abela”.

It’s perfectly normal for politicians to change stances, particularly on issues as complex and emotionally charged as COVID-19. 

Even Health Minister Chris Fearne, who has been widely lauded by the WHO for his response to the pandemic, made a huge U-turn earlier this year when he scrapped vaccine certificate rules a few days after introducing them.

However, trying to rewrite history and claiming a party never said something even when it very clearly did is unfair and an insult to people’s intelligence.

Did you watch the debate yesterday?