Updated 8pm

Robert Abela announced a surprise cabinet reshuffle on Saturday, electing MPs to new ministerial posts and relegating others. 

The biggest surprise was Aaron Farrugia who loses the Transport and Infrastructure ministry and has been left out of cabinet completely. 

Among the highest climbers were Jo Etienne Abela who replaces Chris Fearne as Health Minister and Chris Bonett who has been promoted from parliamentary secretary to become the new transport minister.

Fearne will be Malta’s nominee as EU commissioner which means the race will soon start for a new deputy prime minister. 

The appointments are as follows:

Ministers:

Chris Fearne: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for EU funds, Social Dialogue and Consumer Protection 

Owen Bonnici: Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government 

Ian Borg: Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade 

Michael Falzon: Minister for Social Policy and Children’s Rights 

Anton Refalo: Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights 

Roderick Galdes: Minister for Social and Affordable Accommodation 

Silvio Schembri: Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects   

Julia Farrugia Portelli: Minister for Inclusion and the Voluntary

Clint Camilleri: Minister for Gozo and Planning 

Byron Camilleri: Minister for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality 

Clayton Bartolo: Minister for Tourism and Public Cleanliness 

Miriam Dalli: Minister for the Environment, Energy and Regeneration of the Grand Harbour 

Clyde Caruana: Minister for Finance and Employment 

Clifton Grima: Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation 

Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi: Minister for Lands and the Implementation of the Electoral Programme 

Jonathan Attard: Minister for Justice and Reform of the Construction Sector 

Jo Etienne Abela: Minister for Health and Active Ageing

Chris Bonett:  Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works

Parliamentary secretaries

Andy Ellul: Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Alison Zerafa Civelli: Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government within the Ministry for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government

Keith Azzopardi Tanti: Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation within the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation

Rebecca Buttigieg: Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality in the Ministry for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality

Alicia Bugeja Said: Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Rights within the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights

Malcolm Paul Agius Galea: Parliamentary Secretary secretary for Active Ageing

Glenn Bedingfield: Parliamentary Secretary for Public Cleanliness

Omar Farrugia – Parliamentary Secretary for Public Works  

Who are the biggest winners and losers?

Abela has kept most of his 18 ministers in largely the same posts, with some responsibilities added or removed. 

Aaron Farrugia is by far the biggest casualty of Robert Abela's shake-up,  becoming the only minister to be axed completely from cabinet in the first reshuffle since the 2022 general election.

While Miriam Dalli holds on to energy, she loses enterprise from her portfolio, and has been given the consolation prize of "regeneration of the Grand Harbour" as an additional responsibility. 

Enterprise returns to Silvio Schembri, who has, however, been stripped of lands, which becomes a new separate ministry under Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi. He, in turn, has had planning removed from his portfolio.

Two of the biggest winners of the reshuffle - Jo Etienne Abela and Chris Bonett - were first elected in 2022, when Labour won the election by a landslide. 

Etienne Abela has been given a double portfolio, replacing Chris Fearne as health minister but also retaining responsibility for active ageing.

Meanwhile, Bonett has been promoted from parliamentary secretary to one of the most high-profile portfolios as transport and infrastructure minister.

Another big winner is Clint Camilleri, who has been given planning but also holds on to Gozo. 

The new cabinet also indicates some areas of focus for the prime minister this year. 

In an unusual move, responsibility for reforming the construction sector falls under Jonathan Attard and his Justice portfolio, despite there being a minister for planning and another for public works.

That suggests Attard's remit will be to push through legislative reform for the sector, under the spotlight since the death of worker Jean Paul Sofia in a construction collapse in 2022.

Abela has also almost doubled the number of junior ministers, giving Malcolm Paul Agius, Omar Farrugia, and Glenn Bedingfield parliamentary secretary positions for the first time. 

PN claims 'pseudo reshuffle'

In its first reaction, the PN claimed that Abela had "ended up doing a pseudo reshuffle". 

It said in a statement that many ministers resisted the reshuffle, "wrecking their leader's plans" 

"Abela said that he was going to make a total reshuffle but had to buckle under the pressure from his ministers and all he succeeded in doing was minimal cosmetic changes," it said.

"Today was yet another confirmation of how Robert Abela’s hands are tied and how weak he is as he couldn’t even make the changes he had pompously announced he would make."

Cabinet members appear to have been caught off-guard by Abela's decision to shake things up. 

"This took me completely by surprise," one said. "I knew a reshuffle would happen at some point, but did not expect it to be this early in the year."

"I didn't see this coming," another cabinet member acknowledged.

When Abela announced his cabinet in March 2022, he kept nine ministers in their previous posts, changed the portfolios of five ministers and introduced six new faces – two ministers and four parliamentary secretaries – into cabinet. 

Abela has a lot to keep in mind as he prepares his new team: aside from the European Parliament and local council elections scheduled for June, the terms of Malta's President and EU Commissioner also expire this year.