The Nationalist Party has decried a ministerial consultancy granted to Chris Cardona, for which the former minister is being paid €36,000 for 10 hours of work per week.

Cardona, a former Economy Minister who was left out of Cabinet in 2020 after he was questioned in connection with the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia who then did not seek re-election in 2022, has been appointed as a consultant to the Education Ministry.

In a statement, the PN said that “the Labour Government that rose to power on the cry of meritocracy has done it again.”

“Out of all those in Malta with genuine expertise in the field of education, the Education Minister decided that the most suitable person to advise him is none other than former Minister Chris Cardona,” the PN said.

“Cardona was discarded by Robert Abela in 2020 when he was left out of Cabinet following serious implications surrounding him. Now, Robert Abela has once again opened the door wide and made him part of his Government,” the party added.

The PN said that it firmly believes that the appointment of Cardona “was not based on meritocracy, and is certainly not in the national interest.”

“Yet again, Robert Abela is using the Maltese people’s taxes for political manoeuvring and to improve the lives of his ‘friends’, instead of improving the lives of workers,” the party said.

“The Maltese and Gozitans have only one choice if they want a government that truly believes in meritocracy: a vote for the PN in the next general election,” the part concluded.