Many – including some of the government’s own ministers – were caught off guard by Robert Abela’s sudden decision that a Cabinet reshuffle was in order on Saturday.
After a day of discussions, it emerged that Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne would be nominated as Malta’s next European Commissioner come June after the upcoming MEP elections, and that while he would remain in Cabinet until then, it would be as the Minister responsible for European funds, rather than Health.
This particular piece of news is no surprise: whispers have for months suggested that Fearne was the next in line to be sent to Brussels to succeed Helena Dalli as Malta’s European Commissioner, but the timing is perhaps interesting.
That Abela would want changes to his team six months prior to the MEP elections is perhaps understandable: it’s recognition that people aren’t happy with some things, and if the changes are made any later then there is too little time for the newly appointed Cabinet members to make an impact in their new fields.
However, one wonders why Abela would choose to practically do away with someone who, as per surveys, is far and away the most popular minister in government rather than harness his popularity in the upcoming election bid.
Perhaps it is part of the fallout of the now annulled hospitals deal, although Fearne has always been forthright in saying that he had no involvement in the drafting of the concession for a number of months now. Or perhaps Abela’s decision is partly out of fear that Fearne – who was Abela’s competition for the Labour Party’s leadership role four years ago –now might be more popular than he is.
The other major change to catch the eye was the total removal of Aaron Farrugia from Cabinet. Seen as something of a rising star in previous years, and handed major responsibilities such as his most recent Transport portfolio, Farrugia has now been consigned to the backbenches.
It comes at a time when complaints about traffic in the streets have only intensified, rather than dissipated, but also as Transport Malta particularly comes under immense scrutiny due to scandals such as that concerning the issuing of driving licenses.
Another loser, so to speak, from the reshuffle is Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi who lost the major planning portfolio to Clint Camilleri – a move not expected to spark much positivity from environmentalists in particular owing to the Gozo Minister’s stances on hunting. Despite that though, Camilleri has spoken in favour of the protection of Gozo’s unique characteristics and of new policies for improved building aesthetics – so perhaps that line of thinking can also be transferred to apply for the whole country.
One cannot but also mention the sheer size of the Cabinet. It is now made up of 19 ministries (including the Prime Minister) and another 8 parliamentary secretaries – making the total figure 27. It is a simply huge Cabinet for a country as small as Malta, and the increase of another 2 figures to it will mean more salaries paid out of the government coffers.
One only hopes that the increase in size will translate to an increase in efficiency on the government’s part.