Jason Azzopardi’s Reserved Sliema Parking Removed For ‘Safety Reasons’
Lawyer and former PN MP Jason Azzopardi had his reserved parking spot, given to him after a risk assessment, removed for his “personal safety”.
Labour TV Host Karl Stagno Navarra posted a video on Facebook pointing out what used to be Azzopardi’s reserved parking spot, saying it has been removed because “the only threat to Jason Azzopardi is Jason Azzopardi himself”.
However, Lovin Malta saw an email sent to the lawyer over the weekend by the Home Affairs Ministry explaining that his parking space allocated by Transport Malta was removed for his personal safety.
The email states that the Central Intelligence and Analysis Unit (CI&A) has “been advised by both internal and external stakeholders that, following the exposure of your personal vehicle details in the media, the reserved parking space allocated by Transport Malta” close to his home “now poses a greater risk to your personal safety.”
“First they made sure that it’s visible from the International Space Station, then they made sure that Robert Abela’s lapdogs advertised it to all and sundry to make sure it’s targeted by abuse, then they used the same exposure they created as a pretext to remove it,” Azzopardi told Lovin Malta.
Azzopardi even clarified that when he was granted this parking spot, he insisted that it be reserved only after 7pm after most shops close.
“It was TM which told the Police to do it 24/7 on purpose to elicit the reaction instigated by Labour. Obviously I will keep going on.”
In the clip, Stagno Navarra claimed that the removal of this parking spot is a testament to Azzopardi’s arrogance, going on to implore his attempts to “impeach a government that was democratically elected”.
Stagno Navarra went on to argue that Azzopardi tries to park in the reserved parking of members of parliament: “this also needs to stop”.
He concluded his video by quoting Mussolini saying “arrogance immediately finds a response”.
However, Azzopardi maintains that the way the parking spot was handed and subsequently taken away by Transport Malta intentionally exposed his private details and painted him in a negative light.
Growing tensions
This comes after weeks of bubbling tensions between Azzopardi and the Labour Party, with the former’s frequent requests for magisterial inquiries into alleged large scale corruption triggering the proposal of a controversial reform to the law.
Prime Minister Robert Abela presented a proposed reform to the law on magisterial inquiries that have raised several concerns of democratic backsliding. The proposed reform is being criticised for removing the option for citizens to request an inquiry with a magistrate, redirecting them to the Malta Police Force. The reform also throws out inquiry requests made before January 2025, putting five of Azzopardi’s requests at risk.
Over the weekend, Azzopardi, in a whirlwind of accusations against the government, alleged that the Prime Minister concealed a €20 million valuation report on public land, which was later sold for just €8 million to Fortina Group.
He said this in response to the Malta Police Force’s decision to remove the parking spot intended to safeguard Azzopardi’s personal safety. This spot was given to Azzopardi in October after a risk assessment established he was subject to a high threat level.
Azzopardi called this an attempt to intimidate and silence him, something that will not be successful as he doubles down on his allegations and pledges to reveal more.
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