They came out swinging: how Abela and Grech debated

Although both leaders came out swinging on Wednesday, the tone for the debate was set before it even began.  
Labour leader Robert Abela left his Nationalist opponent Bernard Grech nervously waiting at the podium for a good 15 minutes before waltzing in, cool as a cucumber. 
If intentional, it could have been a juvenile political tactic known as ‘icing’, which is meant to unnerve political rivals ahead of a debate. 

Abela’s predecessor Joseph Muscat had left Simon Busuttil waiting at a similar debate in 2017, only showing up just as the then PN leader, by then visibly unnerved, had threatened to walk out before the broadcast began. Muscat had adopted the same delaying tactics in 2015 during a recording of Times Talk.    
When Abela eventually walked in for Wednesday’s debate, the two had some pointed words for each other.  
And even as the two stood at their podiums for light and sound checks, murmured remarks could be heard by reporters. 
Straight from the opening bell, Grech described Abela as a man of irregularly obtained wealth - a leader who was detached from the concerns of ordinary voters.   
The PN leader said he, on the other hand, had lived a rather modest life and...