PN Leader Adrian Delia called Prime Minister Robert Abela an outright liar during a hostile interview on popular TV show Xarabank.

During a tense exchange with interviewer Mark Lawrence over Abela’s claims that the PN had a 4 million euro electricity and water bill at ARMS, Delia said:

“The PN doesn’t have to give a cent for water and electricity. I hate to say it, but the Prime Minister lied. If anyone thinks we asked for a decrease in bills for our own sake, we can make it clear that it doesn’t have to apply to political parties.”

The frosty atmosphere defined large parts of the interview. At one point, tensions were raised when Zammit asks Delia specifically whether he believed a full lockdown should be imposed.

Delia insisted that he never actually called for a lockdown in the country, stressing that he said that the “sooner we impose a lockdown the better”.

“If we had to close our frontiers then, if we did it that day, we would have avoided it entirely,” Delia assuredly said.

However, whenever Zammit asked Delia his own opinions on the matter, he said that the issue was not political and not provide his personal opinion.

“We even passed a law to give the Superintendent more powers,” he explained.

The opposition leader heavily criticised Abela’s reaction to the outbreak. He slammed the Prime Minister for making sweeping changes to previously-announced lockdowns at the 11th hour after public criticism, insisting that this was not strong leadership and sent mixed messages to both residents and the workforce.

“Listen to the Superintendent’s statements and not the Prime Minister’s opinions,” he said,

Asked to provide more concrete details to his proposals, Delia told Zammit that he was treating the situation as ”a joke”, telling the interviewer to answer his questions if he wished to continue interrupting.

Delia was also critical of financial measures dished out by the government, insisting that even the current package forgot close to 110,000 people in the country.

However, when faced with questions on the MCESD’s backing, Delia said it was not the case.

“They were behind him, not next to him,” he said.

The government has so far rolled out measures to combat a predicted economic downturn. Key industries have been addressed but many feel they have been left out of the stimulus package ahead of a recession. It remains to be seen whether more measures will be rolled out in the next few weeks.