Up to cabinet to decide on Muscat’s diplomatic passport, standards czar says
Government may consider action in light of criminal proceedings against him
It is up to cabinet to decide whether Joseph Muscat should be allowed to retain the use of his diplomatic passport, the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has said.
The commissioner made the ruling following a complaint made by independent candidate Arnold Cassola, shortly after it was revealed that Muscat had been allowed to keep his diplomatic passport as part of his severance package.
When he made the complaint in March 2023, Cassola said the fact Muscat retained the diplomatic passport was "an unheard of misuse of power".
He asked for Prime Minister Robert Abela to be investigated on whether it was an ethics breach to not have Muscat's passport withdrawn.
In his decision, the commissioner said that the investigation into the complaint could not continue because there is no indication of wrongdoing by members of the current government.
Additionally, the subject of the complaint, Muscat himself, could not be investigated as he is no longer under the remit of the commissioner, having resigned his seat in parliament in October 2020.
The commissioner pointed out that former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi had also retained his diplomatic passport.
It was also the cabinet's collective decision to grant the diplomatic passport as part of Muscat's exit deal, he said, and the prime minister could not unilaterally decide to revoke a decision made by cabinet, without first raising the issue within the body again.
Based on these considerations, Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi said there is no basis for the complaint to continue being investigated.
However, he added that the complaint had been examined in the context of 2023 and it is up to the government to decide whether any further action is merited in light of the fact that Muscat is now facing criminal charges related to the hospitals deal.
In 2020, the Office of the Prime Minister refused to divulge the details of the package, however, it was subsequently revealed that he had received some €120,000 in severance pay.
Times of Malta also revealed that the taxpayer is funding Muscat's use of his Sa Maison office.
The former prime minister’s severance package also includes a car with a driver as well as the use of a second car, two telephone landlines and an internet connection, a computer or laptop with a printer and scanner, a mobile phone with calls covered up to €2,330 a year, as well as a personal assistant.