Ian Borg Plays Down Early Election Talk After Latest Front Page Story: ‘Our Term Lasts Till June’
Transport Minister Ian Borg has played down heightened speculation that a snap election will be called in the coming days, arguing that these rumours aren’t originating from the government.
Borg appeared on ONE TV’s Paperscan this morning to discuss stories published in the Sunday papers, including one on the front page of the Sunday Times of Malta that the Electoral Commission is drafting COVID-19 election protocols.
While the article could be interpreted as a sign that an election is imminent, Borg saw things differently.
“I don’t find it interesting and I’m surprised that it even ended up on the front page,” he said. “If the pandemic erupted two years ago and the Prime Minister has a right and an obligation to call an election within five years, one would understand that the Electoral Commission would have started thinking of these protocols a while ago.”
Prime Minister Robert Abela
“They put out a story to create a discussion about something the government didn’t start and which it isn’t engaging with.”
Borg insisted that it is actually the Nationalist Party which wants a snap election, recounting how PN leader Bernard Grech had said last February that he wants the pandemic to end so an election can be held.
“They’re the ones who are creating uncertainty,” the minister said in reference to a front page story on PN paper Il-Mument that the Prime Minister’s refusal to set an election date is causing uncertainty among businesses.
“I was asked about the election in two recent interviews and they practically laugh when you tell them our legislature has until June.”
“We have the strong strongest in history, the Prime Minister has overcome challenges during the pandemic and the period of political instability and now we’re presenting a budget for economic recovery.”
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