The former editor of l-Orizzont, the Labour Party-leaning newspaper owned by the General Workers Union (GWU) has joined the unit that manages Parliamentary Questions sent to the Office of the Prime Minister.

Details about Josef Caruana’s new role were given by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in response to a parliamentary question put forward by PN MP Karol Aquilina. Caruana began his new role on 17 July 2017.

Josef Caruana had insisted that this role has nothing to do with the controversial editorials he penned calling for certain journalists and editors within The Malta Independent and Times of Malta to “disappear” for “halting progress” in their stories against corruption. Both newspapers have repeatedly been targeted by the former editor.

The Prime Minister himself, when asked by journalists, had condemned such use of language, despite giving the man a post within the Office of the Prime Minister. The GWU, which owns the newspaper, even condemned the hate speech used by Caruana.