When John Dalli was nominated as Malta’s European Commissioner, the next question that everyone was asking was who would replace him in the Cabinet. A man with Mr Dalli’s political and administrative experience is not easily replaced.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi immediately said that there would not be a revolution among his team. Repeatedly asked to commit himself, all that he would say was that there would have been a fine-tuning of the set-up.

This was happening at a time when backbenchers were raising their voices. They were – and still are – requesting a more important role. Some did it quietly, within four walls; others went public with their complaints, thinking that they could possibly force Dr Gonzi into doing something drastic.

But Dr Gonzi stuck to his earlier declarations, and the announcements made on Tuesday night are a shining example that the Prime Minister does not easily go back on his word. None of the backbenchers found a place on his Cabinet. If one or more had been given a role, it would have been interpreted as a sign of weakness. All he did was move things around, giving more responsibilities to ministers and parliamentary secretaries who can handle more work.

Before the election, Dr Gonzi promised a leaner Cabinet, and he kept it lean even now that he had the chance to tinker with it and the ‘excuse’ to change things because of Mr Dalli’s resignation.

Effectively, the Cabinet is even smaller than it was – it is the same team, less Mr Dalli. Only the responsibilities have changed, and not for all ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

The decisions show a Prime Minister in total control of the people around him, one who is not easily swayed into making rash decisions just to please unsettled backbenchers. Dr Gonzi has held on to his original intentions in spite of the pressure from within his own ranks, and in spite of knowing that a one-seat majority does not leave him too much room in which to manoeuvre.

It also clearly shows that he has full confidence in the team he set up in March 2008. They have been criticised for not doing well, but Dr Gonzi kept them all there; not only, he added responsibilities to some of them too.

Of course, Dolores Cristina took the biggest chunk of the extra work, taking on many of the tasks that were in Mr Dalli’s portfolio with the exception of health, which has now been passed on to the only parliamentary secretary to win a promotion to minister, Joe Cassar.

Having education and social affairs to take care of is no easy task, but Mrs Cristina has always delivered the goods. Having had the experience as Social Policy Minister in the previous term must have played its part in Dr Gonzi’s mind when it came to making the final choice.

Likewise, Dr Cassar has made great strides forward in the health sector since being appointed parliamentary secretary nearly two years ago. He is spearheading a reform in primary health and launched several initiatives to improve the general wellbeing of the population.

The addition of culture and the environment to Mario de Marco’s portfolio and of small businesses to Jason Azzopardi’s list of responsibilities is a vote of confidence in the work they have carried out so far.

The rest of the movements Dr Gonzi made were part of his fine-tuning promises in a bid to spread the workload better.

What is sure is that Dr Gonzi has sent out a strong signal to each and every member of his Cabinet to work harder and more efficiently, while at the same time telling his backbench that foot-stomping will not take them anywhere.