Prime Minister Robert Abela said the media was singling out Aaron Farrugia when it was analysing and asking questions about his Cabinet reshuffle.

Well, it was the PM himself who chose Farrugia as the sole scapegoat of a government that is facing mounting pressure as we entered the year which will see the election of Malta’s representatives at the European Parliament and on local councils for the next five years.

The list of scandals that kept piling up during 2023, as well as the raging political battle following court rulings on the notorious hospitals’ deal, have dealt several blows to the government’s credibility and accountability, and the shifting of powers can be seen as an attempt to bring the Labour machine back on track.

Farrugia was the only member of Abela’s team who was unceremoniously dumped to the backbench, in a move which effectively downsized his ambitions. To first hold the tough environment portfolio and later have the responsibility for the even tougher transport and infrastructure, and then be relegated to the backbench is clearly a sign that Abela was not happy with Farrugia, irrespective of how Abela is camouflaging the dismissal. Any hopes that Farrugia had for the party deputy leadership Chris Fearne will be relinquishing have gone up in smoke.

The Prime Minister is insisting that Farrugia was moved out as part of a regeneration process, and not because of the former minister’s poor performance. If Farrugia was, according to the PM, doing well, then why remove him? No manager of a team kicks out a player who is performing up to expectations, so Farrugia’s humiliation came about because Abela thinks the minister should have done better. Unless, of course, there are other internal considerations that we do not know about.

Farrugia committed a number of mistakes in recent times – his comment about village feasts as the cause of traffic congestion, not entering the Parliamentary chamber to answer questions on an assault by Transport Malta officers and being responsible for a scheme from which half of the beneficiaries came from his electoral district – did not work in his favour.

But if these instances contributed to his demotion, then he should not have been the only minister to be chucked out. Others involved in more serious scandals and who have committed bigger gaffes should have accompanied him.

Farrugia may have also been the fall guy for Abela to hide his other movements within the Cabinet formation which, contrary to what the Nationalist Party said, is quite extensive when one considers that half the ministers had their duties tinkered with.

Some movements were expected, such as that of Chris Fearne, who will later this year become Malta’s representative on the European Commission, a move that has possibly been in the making ever since Abela beat Fearne for the Labour Party leadership. The delicate health sector has been taken away from Fearne as he prepares for his move to Brussels while still holding on to a ministerial position, with responsibility for the less demanding European funds, social dialogue and consumer protection. As such, Andy Ellul is minister-in-waiting for this portfolio, with Jo Etienne Abela taking charge of health while retaining active aging.

Others movements could not be so easily anticipated.

For example, it was a bizarre choice to take Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi out of planning and construction right in the middle of a reform in the sector which has introduced the requirement for building contractors to be licensed. What was also strange was that the reform for the construction sector was passed on to the Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, who now has an odd combination of duties.

Giving the responsibility for planning to the Gozo Minister was an even more weird decision, and it certainly did not please environmentalists who already have an axe to grind with Clint Camilleri over hunting issues.

The taking away of “enterprise” from under Miriam Dalli’s wing may also be seen as an attempt by Abela to weaken the minister who is widely seen as being his biggest rival for the leadership, now that Fearne is out of the way. And by keeping another leadership rival, Ian Borg, away from the island on his duties as Foreign Affairs Minister, Abela is limiting Borg too.

In 2022, when Abela led Labour to electoral victory, he appointed the largest-ever Cabinet of 18 ministers and six parliamentary secretaries. Following the reshuffle, a new record has been set as we now have the same number of ministers, while the number of parliamentary secretaries has gone up to eight.

Aside from the money that this huge administration is costing the country’s coffers, the question we ask is whether Malta should have such a big Cabinet.