Part 3
Two standards: how he treats each party
The argument
He criticises the PN almost three times as often as Labour, and differently: the PN by name and with ridicule, Labour as 'il-gvern' and often softened in the same breath.
245 : 91criticisms of the PN : of Labour
136 : 35praises of Labour : of the PN
71 : 8Borg : Abela named in his criticism
How he criticises
Every criticism was coded the same way for both parties: 91 criticisms of Labour and 245 of the PN.
How to read this chart. Each bar is a share of that side's own criticisms. Red counts out of his 91 criticisms of Labour; blue counts out of his 245 criticisms of the PN. Example: 15 of his 91 criticisms of Labour use ridicule (16%); 132 of his 245 criticisms of the PN do (54%). The bars compare his style toward each party, whatever the number of reels. One criticism can have several features, so the bars do not add up to 100%.
Criticism of LabourCriticism of the PN
The one feature where Labour leads is the softener: he cushions 51% of his Labour criticism in the same reel, against 36% for the PN.
Who he names
Criticism of Labour
| Gvern | 42 |
| Partit Laburista | 15 |
| Robert Abela | 8 |
| Gvern Laburista | 4 |
| Labour | 3 |
| ministri | 3 |
Criticism of the PN
| Partit Nazzjonalista | 73 |
| Alex Borg | 71 |
| PN | 38 |
| Adrian Delia | 29 |
| Oppożizzjoni | 20 |
| PN supporters | 11 |
How he shields Labour
“U mhux għall-Prim Ministru ta qed ngħid”
And I am not saying it about the Prime Minister. (Ta' Qali criticism)
12 Jan 2026 · Watch reel
“l-ebda gvern ma jista' jfaqqa' subgħajh”
No government can snap its fingers. (his one Labour criticism in that batch, blamed on climate and Europe)
21 Jul 2026 · Watch reel
Same reel, two standards
Same reel, two leaders
Same reel, two finance plans
“mingħajr ebda sens ta' responsabbiltà”
On the PN's VAT cut: without any sense of responsibility.
22 May 2026 · Watch reel
“wieħed mill-aqwa ministri li qatt rajna f'dawn l-aħħar għoxrin sena”
On Clyde Caruana: one of the best ministers we have seen in twenty years.
22 May 2026 · Watch reel
Same reel, two parties' records
“Daqshekk tiswa l-mara?”
Mocking the PN stay-home incentive: is that all a woman is worth?
11 May 2026 · Watch reel
“biex inkunu fair, il-Partit Laburista taw tax cuts kbar”
Softening his Labour point: to be fair, Labour gave big tax cuts.
11 May 2026 · Watch reel
How he praises
Each bar is a share of that side's own praises: red out of 136 praises of Labour, blue out of 35 praises of the PN.
Praise of LabourPraise of the PN
Praise of Labour
| Gvern | 33 |
| Robert Abela | 26 |
| Partit Laburista | 18 |
| Clyde Caruana | 17 |
| Glenn Bedingfield | 9 |
| Project Green | 6 |
Praise of the PN
| Alex Borg | 23 |
| Janice Abela Chetcuti | 1 |
| Mark Anthony Sammut | 1 |
| Eddie Fenech Adami | 1 |
| Peter Agius | 1 |
| Gvern Nazzjonalista | 1 |
Over time
Praise by period
LabourPN
Criticism by period
LabourPN
The campaign ran five weeks; the period before it ran almost eight months. Compare within a period, not across periods.
Five examples for each feature
| Feature | Side | His words | Reel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aimed at a named person | Labour | “U inti temmen li dawn se jiġu lura, dawn il-miljuni kollha ta' liri?” | 16 Sep 2025 · Watch reel |
| Aimed at a named person | PN | “Ħa nkun onest, din għara mill-arroganza li ddejjaq lili.” | 13 May 2026 · Watch reel |
| Aimed at a named person | PN | “dan xejn mhu minnu li qed jgħid l-MEP David Casa. Hu ma ġab xejn għal Malta” | 23 May 2026 · Watch reel |
| Aimed at a named person | PN | “Erba' sigħat biex tiftħer pac stickers man f'xahar għamilna manifest?” | 27 May 2026 · Watch reel |
| Aimed at a named person | PN | “So Peter Agius hawnhekk qed jgħid li bħalissa hawn sbatax-il bajja magħluqa ħabba drenaġġ. U din hija gidba.” | 4 Jul 2026 · Watch reel |
| Blames a named person | Labour | “B'approvazzjoni minn Segretarja Parlamentari Rebecca Buttigieg. With all the deepest respect ta, din mhux conflict of interest. This is conflict of interest one on one. Pastażata.” | 30 Mar 2026 · Watch reel |
| Blames a named person | PN | “Delia qal li tant se jkunu baxxi ben il-kontijiet, għas-sussidju m'għandna bżonn king. Viva Delia l-king.” | 28 Apr 2026 · Watch reel |
| Blames a named person | PN | “Well, Dr Adrian Delia, I'm very sorry, your numbers make absolutely no sense.” | 22 May 2026 · Watch reel |
| Blames a named person | PN | “Ismagħni. Take it like a man. Tliftu.” | 22 Jun 2026 · Watch reel |
| Blames a named person | PN | “Mhux vera ma ġab xejn għal Malta. Dan kien kontra Malta.” | 9 Jun 2026 · Watch reel |
| Uses ridicule | Labour | “bi żball, għattejna l-part ta' Ta' Qali kollu żrat. Miscommunication. Bi żball.” | 3 Sep 2025 · Watch reel |
| Uses ridicule | PN | “Oh my goodness, fantastico! Issa pizza naqsmuha bejn tnejn mhux bejn erbgħa. We can have a pizza party.” | 21 May 2026 · Watch reel |
| Uses ridicule | PN | “Google, Google għalfejn tlifna l-elezzjoni? Skont is-sorsi ta' TikTok ivvotaw ħafna Bangladesh, Indjani, Bombay potato, Bombay rice.” | 8 Jun 2026 · Watch reel |
| Uses ridicule | PN | “Villa b'ħames bedrooms. Ejja. Ħames bedrooms u bil-pool ukoll.” | 10 Jun 2026 · Watch reel |
| Uses ridicule | PN | “Peter, fejn ħrabtielna?” | 6 Jul 2026 · Watch reel |
| Attacks the person, not the action | Labour | “Erol Cutajar b'vuċi naqra aħjar minn Owen Bonnici, ħe, x'taħseb, ħa? Qisu kelb tal-but, bil-mnieħra mblokkat” | 8 Dec 2025 · Watch reel |
| Attacks the person, not the action | PN | “Din ignoranta ċuċi piżella ta' min illi twellad ħasel fl-awrina taż-żwieb” | 7 Sep 2025 · Watch reel |
| Attacks the person, not the action | PN | “qatt m'ħa tara lili nikteb dawn it-tip ta' ċuċati għax they're, they're baseless and they're factless.” | 12 Jun 2026 · Watch reel |
| Attacks the person, not the action | PN | “U din l-injoranza, għax din injoranza” | 2 Sep 2026 · Watch reel |
| Attacks the person, not the action | PN | “Dr Adrian Delia, ħa ngħidielek minn qalbi, you should be ashamed of yourself man” | 1 Sep 2026 · Watch reel |
| Harsh (top intensity) | Labour | “Jiena kulħadd jaf kif inħossha fuq il-metro, fuq it-tram u l-underground u bla bla bla. Għalija dak kollu bull- Bullshit.” | 5 Jan 2026 · Watch reel |
| Harsh (top intensity) | PN | “Meta l-Partit Nazzjonalista, kull rispett, toħorġu tgħajtu bil-bandiera bajda u ħamra. Taf x'ngħidilkom? Bullshit.” | 7 Nov 2025 · Watch reel |
| Harsh (top intensity) | PN | “Ma nibqgħux sejrin b'dawn il-ħmerijiet u din il-mentalità stupida.” | 24 Mar 2026 · Watch reel |
| Harsh (top intensity) | PN | “nies bħal dawn fil-Partit Nazzjonalista. Ignoranti.” | 28 Sep 2025 · Watch reel |
| Harsh (top intensity) | PN | “imma bis-serjetà dawn qed jiċċajtau magħna” | 19 Apr 2026 · Watch reel |
| Done as a skit | Labour | “Imma l-importanti li ġibna l-ispeċjalisti u l-esperti kollha.” | 3 Nov 2025 · Watch reel |
| Done as a skit | PN | “Kemm ħa tiġġenera flus din? E, tliet mija u ħamsin. Tliet snin xi ħaġa. E, erba' mija u ħamsin mil.” | 21 May 2026 · Watch reel |
| Done as a skit | PN | “Morna tajjeb, morna tajjeb u bravu lill-Kap aħna.” | 19 Jun 2026 · Watch reel |
| Done as a skit | PN | “Mistoqsija ġenwina għas-Sur Borg. Kieku inti ssir il-Prim Ministru ta' Malta, biex issiefer? Bir-Ryanair?” | 23 Oct 2025 · Watch reel |
| Done as a skit | PN | “Project Green, smajt bih? Tgħidli għaliex ma smajt bih?” | 29 Oct 2025 · Watch reel |
| Softened in the same breath | Labour | “Imbagħad ngħid, allura l-gvern ma jidħolx fiha din?” Softener: “mhux taħt dan il-gvern biss, jiġifieri biex ma taħsbux qed nattakka dan il-gvern” | 24 Aug 2025 · Watch reel |
| Softened in the same breath | Labour | “dawn l-esperti kollha u dawn il-miljuni, għax dawn mhumiex eluf ta' liri qed nonfqu, qed nonfqu miljuni” Softener: “ix-xita ħadmu fil-kontroll tagħha, dik hija fil-kontroll t'Alla biss” | 18 Oct 2025 · Watch reel |
| Softened in the same breath | Labour | “Ħa nonfqu aktar miljuni biex nistudjaw li diġà studjajna” Softener: “Ara bħala idea, ovvja, idea tajba.” | 29 Oct 2025 · Watch reel |
| Softened in the same breath | PN | “Ħa nkun honest, this is playing dirty għalija.” Softener: “konna għaddejjin tajjeb man. Kemm il-Labour kemm in-Nazzjonalisti” | 28 May 2026 · Watch reel |
| Softened in the same breath | PN | “L-impatt tefgħu dirett fuq il-poplu u mhux talli hekk” Softener: “ħa nkun fair, jien ma qgħodx immur lura x'għamelt fil-passat” | 10 Mar 2026 · Watch reel |
The point
He does not only criticise the PN more often; he criticises it differently. Names and ridicule for the PN, 'il-gvern' and a 'but' for Labour. That is a partisan's double standard.