After losing his place in Robert Abela’s cabinet, Silvio Parnis has hinted that his time in politics will soon be coming to an end.
Parnis was the only casualty of a reshuffle announced on Saturday night, which saw four new ministers and three other ministers be shifted to a different portfolio.
What was Parnis’ portfolio – the elderly – was promoted from being a parliamentary secretariat to becoming a full-blown ministry.
However, the portfolio was handed to Michael Farrugia, leaving Parnis out in the cold.
In a Facebook post on Saturday evening, after the reshuffle was announced, Parnis said that he was elected to parliament for the first time 23 years ago, and since then had always obtained a big number of votes.
“This is because I was always close to the people, and I loved the people and gave them my time and heart. I went into politics clean, and I’ve always remained clean”, he said.
“Now the time has come for me to give more time to myself and to my family”, he continued.
Ħbieb 23 sena ilu tlajt fil-parlament għall-ewwel darba u minn dakinhar dejjem ġibt voti kbar. Dan seħħ għaliex dejjem...
Posted by Silvio Parnis on Saturday, November 21, 2020
Parnis thanked all those who had worked with him throughout his political journey, where he had built a big family and made true friends.
There have since been reports that Parnis sent a message to friends and close associates stating that he will not be re-contesting the next general election.
Attempts by this newsroom to contact Parnis were not successful until the time of writing.
Parnis was under some pressure in recent months, especially as the Covid-19 pandemic spread in several homes for the elderly. His silence in the face of that growing crisis – save for a roly-poly sent to residents in homes – had attracted scathing criticism, with the PN calling for his resignation.
Parnis continued to insist at the time that he would not step down, and that he was working hard.