In an interview with MaltaToday, Nationalist Party secretary general Joe Saliba confirmed that his two-week stay on construction magnate Zaren Vassallo’s ‘Princess Charlene’ was his “fifth or sixth” holiday on the same boat.
Saliba candidly admits that only last year he was on the same boat with Zaren Vassallo, and that the Labour media had been critical of the government for awarding a tender to other magnate Charles Polidano ‘ic-Caqnu’ – a tender which was contested by Vassallo.
“Last year I went on the same boat with Vassallo. Still, he did not get his tender.”
Saliba also reveals that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was aware of his Mediterranean cruise. “Of course he knew. Half the party must have known.”
Saliba says he has no qualms on spending two weeks with the building contractor, insisting he was simply spending time with a friend he knew from the time when he was still a builder and a political nobody. “I’ve known Zaren for a long time. My origins are in the building industry. Zaren works in construction. I was never his employee but people in the building sector know each other.”
Rebutting internal criticism that with an election looming he should have stayed in Malta, Saliba reveals that the PN’s strategy is already ready. “But if my work on the campaign is ready, why shouldn’t I take a holiday? Our strategy is ready. Whenever the Prime Minister calls an election we are ready.”
Saliba also gives a clear hint on how the PN would conduct its campaign, presenting a doomsday scenario if Labour is elected back to power. “It’s a life or death election. I do not have the slightest doubt.”