The Nationalist Party has said that Prime Minister Robert Abela’s choice to nominate Edward Zammit Lewis to be a judge in the General Court of the European Union is “an insult to all those who believe in justice.”
The news of Zammit Lewis’ nomination is not officially confirmed, but MaltaToday quoted senior government sources on Wednesday saying that the former Justice Minister was in line to replace Ramona Frendo, who has vacated her post to be a judge at the European Court of Justice.
Zammit Lewis is a PL MP but has not been in Abela’s Cabinet in this legislature, instead serving on the backbenches. He served as Justice Minister prior to being omitted from Cabinet. He has been criticised in the past for his closeness with Yorgen Fenech, who is charged with allegedly masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Leaked WhatsApp chats, which took place before Fenech’s alleged involvement in the murder was publicly known, showed the relationship, and Zammit Lewis gained particular attention for describing Labour Party voters as ‘Ġaħan’ – which is a derogatory term translating to ‘fools’. He had later apologised for the remark, but refused to resign from his post.
In a statement reacting to the news, the PN through its Justice Spokesperson Karol Aquilina said that the choice of Zammit Lewis confirms that Robert Abela has no interest in the need for people to shoulder political responsibility in Malta, and instead shows that he is ready to reward those who abused of their political position.
“The Prime Minister should withdraw Edward Zammit Lewis’ nomination and instead launched a public call in order for a person who will truly make Malta proud in the European Union’s courts can be chosen,” Aquilina said.
“The choice should be based on merit, not political convenience,” the party added.
The PN reminded of Zammit Lewis’ close relationship with Fenech and also that he was part of the government which was condemned by three judges as having caused the climate of impunity that allowed Caruana Galizia’s murder to happen.
The party also reminded how Zammit Lewis, together with Abela, had ridiculed former PN leader Simon Busuttil and the PN itself when it was working to ensure that there would be an investigation into 17 Black – Yorgen Fenech’s once secret Dubai-based company, which has been connected to alleged kickbacks to Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri.
The party said that Zammit Lewis and Abela had gone as far as describing Simon Busuttil as ‘a threat to the rule of law.’