It is still early days but those who interpreted Robert Abela’s ‘continuity’ leadership slogan as being more of the same have been left surprised. Keith Micallef looks back on the key moments of his first week in office.
When Robert Abela stepped into Parliament for the first time as prime minister on Monday, he had already lost a member of his Cabinet.
Any honeymoon period he may have hoped for swiftly came to an end by the revelation that the former deputy police commissioner and outgoing Gozo minister Justyne Caruana’s husband had holidayed with a murder suspect. By Maltese political standards she was gone within almost record time, less than 24 hours.
Here is how Dr Abela handled that and other key decisions in his first week in the job.
Out with the old... and controversial
The newly-elected Prime Minister immediately signalled he would have no qualms to make certain decisions, including not to re-appoint Chris Cardona, Labour’s deputy leader for party affairs, as economy minister.
Keeping Dr Cardona in the Cabinet, with his toxic links to the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation, could have come back to haunt Dr Abela in the future. Former prominent minister Konrad Mizzi was also left out of Cabinet.
Dr Abela’s decision to accept Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar’s resignation reflected his comments during his leadership campaign that he was not happy with the way the police had conducted matters in the Caruana Galizia murder investigation.
He insisted he wanted the police chief to be “trusted across the board”.
Notorious official Neville Gafà might have attended the swearing-in ceremony but he was packing his bags from the Office of the Prime Minister by the next day.
Other moves were less likely to grab the headlines but may play less well internally in the party. Joe Mizzi’s sacking from the Cabinet could have been a step too far. Apart from the fact that the second district, Labour’s traditional stronghold, is under-represented in the Cabinet, one might also argue that Mr Mizzi’s low-key performance did not warrant such a drastic measure.
Dr Abela’s announcement that he would be contesting the next general election in the second district bears the hallmarks of an afterthought.
Furthermore, the sacking of parliamentary secretary Anthony Agius Decelis has increased the overall risk of a backlash from disenchanted constituents of the three MPs removed from the Cabinet.
In with the new – a new direction
While Ian Borg, Chris Fearne and Edward Scicluna retained their portfolios, it was highly significant that this was not the case for the justice and home affairs ministers.
The setting up of a governance board also signals that issues pertaining to the rule of law will be given more priority than the recent past. A lobbyist register for the Environment and Planning Ministry sends out a message of transparency.
Meanwhile, Dr Abela broke the pattern of his predecessors who had made it a point to clear the makeshift memorial to Ms Caruana Galizia in Valletta on a daily basis.
A ‘no’ to abortion
With the Cabinet reshuffle in place, Dr Abela lost no time to convey his strong pro-life stance and possibly signal a less liberal approach on this issue to his predecessor.
While the introduction of abortion was not in Labour’s electoral manifesto, Dr Abela’s declaration that he would stand in Joseph Muscat’s way should the former prime minister campaign for the pro-choice camp conveyed a strong message.
Furthermore, Dr Abela’s declaration that he saw no need to remove the reference to the Catholic Church from the Constitution further strengthens that feeling.
In this respect, he has probably struck a chord with conservative Nationalist voters.
The first political scandal
Dr Muscat’s decision to hold on to ministers and advisors who were tainted with corruption ultimately led to his own downfall.
In contrast, Dr Abela appeared quick to act.
Last week, Times of Malta revealed that former senior police officer Silvio Valletta had holidayed with murder suspect Yorgen Fenech. By the following day, his wife had resigned as Gozo minister after “being requested to do so”, according to sources close to the Prime Minister.
The verdict
A rejuvenated Labour Cabinet has piled more pressure on the Nationalist Party to regenerate itself.
But this goes beyond a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle. For the time being, the signs are that any threat for Dr Abela, apart from his inexperience, will not be coming from enemy lines but from within.
For many on the outside, he has so far exceeded expectations, even in handling the former Gozo minister husband’s scandal.
Dr Abela’s focus on change rather than continuity might risk ruffling feathers from within but he does so while conveying a strong message of his government’s ethical benchmark.