Former Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia said he will continue his work in parliament, in his first statement after a surprise reshuffle saw him stripped of his cabinet post.
Prime Minister Robert Abela summoned his ministers to Castille on Saturday in a shake-up of his cabinet, electing MPs into new ministerial posts and relegating others.
However, Farrugia - who has held a ministerial portfolio since 2017 - was divested entirely of his responsibilities as a minister, with his portfolio handed off to Chris Bonnet.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Farrugia said that as his time as a minister comes to an end, he remains proud that he has "served as a Minister in the best way that I could, in the same way that I have served other portfolios".
"I humbly accept the Prime Minister's decision and I commit myself to continue serving the country as an MP, thanks to the show of faith that voters showed to me in the last general election," he said.
"I congratulate all of my colleagues, particularly Chris Bonett, whom I have no doubt will take on the role with competence."
Farrugia was first elected to parliament in 2017 and served as parliamentary secretary for EU Funds and Social Dialogue during Joseph Muscat's second term.
After Robert Abela took office, Farrguia was appointed Environment and Planning Minister in 2020. Since Abela's cabinet was formed after the 2022 general election, he has served as Transport and Infrastructure Minister.
Abela did not discuss the impromptu reshuffle during a scheduled political activity on Sunday, instead using his pulpit to criticise the Nationalist Party's shadow cabinet.
In reaction to the reshuffle, lawyer and former MP Franco Debono said that seeing the Labour government allowing its backbenchers to participate in leading the country and conversely it is an unwillingness from the Nationalist Party to adopt the same approach that is holding it back from an electoral gain.
While Debono said he believes that the cabinet is still too large, he thinks that Abela is doing what former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi had “promised but never delivered” - party renewal and letting freshly elected faces participate in the administration.
Independent MEP candidate Arnold Cassola said that Abela’s motivation behind the reshuffle was to “get rid of” Chris Fearne and that now the only “sensible and free-thinking minister that remains in his cabinet” is Clyde Caruana.
“In order to consolidate his hegemony within the party, Abela has sacrificed the general welfare of the country,” Cassola said.
He expressed disappointment that the reshuffle had not divested Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo of power, whose Ministry Cassola said is “riddled with scandals”. He also expressed concern that the planning portfolio was given to Clint Camilleri, due to his closeness with high-level players in the construction industry such as architect Alexander Bigeni and developer Joseph Portelli.
Cassola said that rather than serve the interests of the nation, Abela utilised the shuffle to prioritise the Labour Party’s internal interests first.