There is no correlation between the arrival in Malta of former minister Konrad Mizzi and the Cabinet’s nomination of Angelo Gafà as prospective Police Commissioner, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Wednesday.
"I'm not saying it is the case, but if anyone returned to Malta because of Gafà's nomination they made a mistake. It also shows that they don't know Gafà, because he is not the sort to be influenced by anyone," Abela said.
Nationalist Party MP Jason Azzopardi and MEP David Casa had both noted that Mizzi had returned to Malta just one day after Angelo Gafà's nomination as police commissioner.
Azzopardi has also previously claimed that Mizzi was abroad because he was angling for a guarantee that he would not be prosecuted if he were to return to Malta.
Mizzi, who was forced out of office last year in the wake of the Caruana Galizia murder probe, had been absent since mid-March. He returned on Tuesday.
He had presented a medical certificate signed by a UK doctor which certified him as being too ill to fly to Malta and attending parliamentary sittings.
Abela said on Wednesday he has not yet met Mizzi.
Asked by the media whether he believed Mizzi’s medical claims, Abela said it was up to the Speaker to believe him or otherwise, and to take the necessary action.
Speaker Anġlu Farrugia confirmed on Monday that Mizzi was still being paid as an MP, given that he was absent for medical reasons.
Abela meanwhile urged the Opposition to participate in parliamentary hearings to confirm the government's nomination of Gafà, after the Nationalist Party said it will not participate in the grilling.
'Chris Cardona to take decision that will not harm PL'
Embattled politician Chris Cardona is expected to take decisions that will not harm the Labour Party, the Prime Minister also said on Wednesday.
Cardona lost his ministerial post when Abela became prime minister in January and gave up his seat as an MP in April. He continues to serve as one of the Labour Party's deputy leaders.
Robert Abela confirmed that he has met Cardona since facing allegations in court of being at the centre of the plot to murder Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Asked about the future of Cardona as Labour deputy leader he said: “I confirm that I met with Chris Cardona. Cardona is a person who loves the party, and I am convinced that the decisions he is expected to take will not harm the good reputation of the Labour Party.”
Self-confessed murder middleman turned State witness Melvin Theuma has said in court that he had been told a phone had been dumped at sea near the hitmen’s Marsa hangout. Inside the phone, investigators allegedly discovered two phone numbers: Cardona’s and one for one of the alleged hitmen.
In an interview with Times of Malta, Cardona maintained he has been the victim of an attempt to frame him for the murder.