Robert Abela reshuffled his top people in government on Saturday, empowering young backbenchers, shaking up some ministers' roles and sacking one of his top ministers. 

Malta's new cabinet is larger than the previous one, retaining the same number of ministers (18) but almost doubling the number of parliamentary secretaries, from five to eight.

It was the first reshuffle since the 2022 general election and coincided with the fourth anniversary of Abela as prime minister.

Initial indications among Labour sources were that the reshuffle would be a major one, with several changes. 

In the end, most cabinet members kept their portfolios. Some have had their responsibilities adjusted, and one - Aaron Farrugia - was demoted to the backbench. 

There was also one omission which remains unexplained at this stage: Labour backbencher Amanda Spiteri Grech was tipped for a post and was photographed, beaming, as she exited the Office of the Prime Minister on Saturday evening. 

But when the government announced its new team of ministers and parliamentary secretaries at 7pm, her name was nowhere to be seen. 

This is Robert Abela's new executive: 

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Chris Fearne

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European Funds, Social Dialogue and Consumer Protection

Previously: Health Minister and deputy prime minister

Also: To be Malta's nominee as EU commissioner

After eight years and one pandemic as Health Minister, Fearne has been reassigned a different portfolio.

He will now oversee the work of parliamentary secretary Andy Ellul (social dialogue), take control of the EU funds portfolio vacated by the promoted Chris Bonett and oversee the consumer and competition regulator, the MCCAA.

But Fearne's new ministerial job is a temporary one - he has been earmarked for an EU Commission post and will therefore be heading to Brussels by the end of 2024, assuming he is approved by MEPs. 

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Owen Bonnici

Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government

Bonnici, one of cabinet's longest-serving ministers and one who has served in a wide variety of ministerial roles, had a relatively quiet Saturday: he retains the portfolio he was assigned by Abela in 2022.

As culture minister, he has overseen a number of successful cultural events but also faced criticism over the commercialisation of heritage sites and the increasingly toothless role of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage in planning decisions.  

A lawyer by profession, Bonnici was first elected to parliament in 2007 aged 28. He previously served as deputy mayor of Marsascala. 

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Alison Zerafa Civelli

Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government within the Ministry for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government

No change to her portfolio

Zerafa Civelli held on to a portfolio she is no stranger to, having spent nine years as Cospicua mayor before making it to parliament in 2022.

Perhaps one of the most pressing issues she must tackle is the disgruntlement and lack of motivation within local councils.  Councils have been gradually stripped of much of their power and many mayors and councillors feel disillusioned.

The problem is so bad that parties are struggling to attract prospective candidates to run for a council seat in the June 2024 elections.

Zerafa Civelli is also Abela’s sister-in-law and has served on the boards of several state-run enterprises in the past years.

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Ian Borg

Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade

Retained previous ministry

That Borg would hold onto his portfolio was probably the most predictable move in Saturday’s reshuffle.

The 38-year-old lawyer is flying high among his counterparts in international institutions, representing Malta on the UN Security Council and now chairing the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - the world's largest regional security body. 

Under his watch, Malta has also hosted peace talks concerning the Russia-Ukraine war and secured a significant trade deal with China to start exporting Maltese bluefin tuna there. 

His political position remains unaffected by a driving licence racket exposed by Times of Malta, which showed how, as transport minister, he and his staff fed names to be fast-tracked or helped to get a driving licence.

Despite being just 38 years old, Borg has some 22 years of political experience under his belt.

Having served as mayor of Dingli in his teens, he has served in frontline political positions ever since he was elected to parliament in 2013. 

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Michael Falzon

Minister for Social Policy and Children’s Rights

Retained previous ministry

The long-time Labour MP will continue to steer the same ministry he has held since 2017, albeit with some changes in its name over the years.

He retains that post despite the social benefits scandal that hit his ministry last year, and which led to hundreds of people pocketing monthly disability benefit payments through fraud. 

Falzon has insisted he and his ministry did nothing wrong, but as pressure mounted his ministry announced that a three-person board led by retired judge Antonio Mizzi will be reviewing benefit systems to identify loopholes and shortcomings. That board's term will end next month.  

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Anton Refalo

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights

Retained previous portfolio

Refalo emerged unscathed from the Saturday reshuffle, and given the rumours that have swirled about him potentially facing criminal charges over a heritage artefact found in his garden, that should count as a win. 

But context is important, and Refalo will be painfully aware that he is the only one of Labour's three Gozitan MPs to not get a promotion. 

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Alicia Bugeja Said

Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Rights within the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights

Retained her previous portfolio

Bugeja Said is kept in a role she is comfortable with, given her professional and academic background within the fisheries sector.

A former director of the fisheries department, Bugeja Said has a PhD in anthropology and conservation from the University of Kent, with her expertise focusing predominantly on marine and fisheries governance.

She was first elected to parliament in 2022 through the gender-balancing mechanism and was immediately catapulted to cabinet, in the role she retains following Saturday’s reshuffle.

In that role, Bugeja Said oversees Malta’s lucrative bluefin tuna industry. On the other hand, she must also look out for small Maltese fishers who often struggle to keep their small boats afloat.

One other probable headache for Bugeja Said is Malta’s increasingly overcrowded animal welfare shelters and sanctuaries.

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Roderick Galdes

Minister for Social and Affordable Accommodation

Retained previous portfolio

Roderick Galdes retains control of a ministry that he first assumed leadership of back in 2017. As social housing minister, Galdes is in a privileged position to help disadvantaged voters, and that was evident in the 2022 general election, when he was elected from the sixth district with more than 4,000 votes on the first count. 

Galdes has maintained a relatively low profile throughout his political career but can now be considered a parliamentary veteran. He was first co-opted into parliament in 2004 and has been elected ever since, served as a junior minister between 2013 and 2017 and was then promoted to minister. Before entering parliament, he served as mayor of his hometown Qormi.

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Silvio Schembri

Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects

Previously: Economy, EU Funds and Lands

Schembri retains the bulk of his portfolio but Abela has made some subtle but important changes to the Luqa MP's political responsibilities. 

Responsibility for the Lands Department - a labyrinthine entity that holds considerable power - has been taken away from Schembri, less than two years after it was bestowed on him. That is no small loss and should not be underestimated. 

He also loses control over EU Funds, which shifts to Chris Fearne. 

But Schembri has also been given additional responsibilities in the form of 'Enterprise and Strategic Projects'. 'Enterprise' means entities like Malta Enterprise will once again be under his oversight.

'Strategic Projects' is less clear: does it mean that Schembri will now have political control of Projects Malta, the state-run entity responsible for major capital investment projects and which was previously Aaron Farrugia's responsibility? 

If so, then this reshuffle was arguably a positive one for Schembri, despite the blow of having lands taken away from him.

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Julia Farrugia Portelli

Minister for Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector

Previously: Minister for Inclusion, Voluntary Organisations and Consumer Rights

It's a second successive demotion for Farrugia Portelli, though she retains her title as minister. 

The onetime Tourism Minister will retain responsibility for Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector but has been stripped of oversight of Consumer Rights, meaning she is no longer politically responsible for the competition regulator, the MCCAA. 

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Clint Camilleri

Minister for Gozo and Planning

Previously: Minister for Gozo

Arguably the most politically significant change of this reshuffle is Abela's decision to merge political responsibility for Gozo and the Planning Authority into one ministerial portfolio.

Camilleri is an architect by profession and is therefore familiar with the PA and its processes.

But the decision to grant him this oddly matched super ministry will raise plenty of eyebrows, given the myriad opportunities for clientelism that both those briefs offer. 

It also raises questions about the government's long-term 'island of villages' vision for Gozo, launched just a few months ago. Is Camilleri really on board with that idea, or will he push for more development on Malta's sister island? 

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Byron Camilleri

Minister for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality 

Retained his previous portfolio

Camilleri holds on to a mammoth ministry which forces him to tackle major issues almost everywhere he looks.

A lack of interest in joining the police force: the police’s struggle to prosecute major cases and deal with domestic violence victims; the headache of reforming Malta’s prison system; the AFM’s handling of irregular migration; international scrutiny about the miserable conditions in which migrants are detained.

All those issues are things which fall under Camilleri’s political remit.

But that is not even all that he is responsible for. He is also responsible for reforms and equality – a portfolio known to stir controversy whenever it hits the headlines.

He does, however, have a few feathers in his cap. statistics show crime is going down and overall trust in the police is going up, and irregular migrant arrivals have been dropping year-on-year.

The fact that he has held on to such a massive portfolio at a relatively young age – Camilleri is 35 – can be construed as a vote of confidence in his work as a minister.

Camilleri served as the Labour Party whip between 2017 and 2020 before being made Home Affairs Minister by Abela.

A lawyer by profession, he previously served as mayor of Fgura and has been active within the PL since a young age. 

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Rebecca Buttigieg

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

Retained her previous portfolio

 It is perhaps no surprise that Buttigieg held onto her portfolio, given her relatively high-profile status during her first two years in office.

Buttigieg entered parliament in 2022 through a casual election and was immediately promoted to parliamentary secretary for reforms and equality.

In that role, she led the organisation of EuroPride celebrations in Malta, spearheaded women’s rights laws and initiatives and introduced laws banning the advertising of gay conversion therapy and allowing people to check whether their partner has a domestic violence history, among others.

She also oversaw the implementation of cannabis legislation reform, which remains a work in progress.

Buttigieg will continue to serve under Byron Camilleri – a boss she knows well, having previously served as his communications coordinator.

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Clayton Bartolo

Minister for Tourism and Public Cleanliness

Previously: Minister for Tourism

Bartolo has public cleanliness officially added to his political responsibility, though in practice he was already the minister who made public announcements related to that.

Given that the prime minister has appointed a separate parliamentary secretary to handle cleansing (Glenn Bedingfield) it is unlikely that Bartolo's day-to-day work will be impacted much by the change. 

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Miriam Dalli

Minister for the Environment, Energy and Regeneration of the Grand Harbour

Previously: Minister for Energy, Environment and Enterprise

Two years ago and having never served in cabinet, Dalli was handed a super-ministry in what was seen as a resounding vote of confidence in her abilities by Abela. 

Now, she has had part of that portfolio - Enterprise - taken away from her and given back to Silvio Schembri. The change means Dalli is no longer responsible for Malta Enterprise, the government agency responsible for promoting investment by foreign industry. 

Instead, she must focus her energy on the vaguely-worded 'Regeneration of the Grand Harbour'. What regeneration is planned, and why does it require a specific minister's focus? At this stage, the title appears to be a sop intended to cushion the blow to Dalli's pride. 

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Clyde Caruana

Minister for Finance and Employment

Retained his previous ministry

The 38-year-old economist keeps the job he has had ever since he entered parliament in 2020 and will continue to hold the nation’s purse strings.

As Finance Minister, Caruana has faced a wave of challenges: first the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the economy, and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring.

Caruana was one of the architects of the economic boom of the past decade, which was fuelled by an influx of foreign workers. He has however recently been warning that Malta should change its economic model unless it wants its population to rise to 800,000 in the coming years.

As Finance Minister, his primary focus in the coming years will be keeping Malta’s budget deficit in check while also finding a way of phasing out energy subsidies.

A good portion of his 2024 will most likely also involve overseeing the phasing out of Air Malta and the birth of the new national airline, which will make its maiden flight at the end of March.

Caruana worked at the NSO and spent several years chairing state employment agency JobsPlus before moving closer to the heart of power when Abela made him his chief of staff. 

A few months later – in November 2020 – he was co-opted into parliament and quickly replaced Edward Scicluna as Finance Minister.

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Clifton Grima

Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation 

Retained his previous ministry

Grima stays put in his previous role and that is in itself a vote of confidence by the prime minister, given that the Education Ministry is currently locked in negotiations with the teachers' union over a new collective agreement. 

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Keith Azzopardi Tanti

Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation within the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation

Retained his previous portfolio

Azzopardi Tanti, like his direct boss Clifton Grima, remains in the parliamentary secretariat he was assigned in 2022 with no changes. 

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Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi

Minister for Lands and the Implementation of the Electoral Programme 

Previously: Minister for Planning and Public Works

Zrinzo Azzopardi's 18-month stint as Planning and Public Works Minister comes to an end, with that portfolio split across three separate ministers. Planning (i.e. the Planning Authority) is now the remit of Clint Camilleri, Public Works falls under Chris Bonett's Infrastructure Ministry, and responsibility to 'reform of the construction sector' is handed to Justice Minister Jonathan Attard.

The reshuffle represents a demotion of sorts for Zrinzo Azzopardi, who will now be politically responsible for the Lands Authority and for the 'implementation of the electoral programme'. 

The latter role is one that was entrusted to Carmelo Abela between 2020 and 2022. Abela was moved out of cabinet altogether following the last general election.   

To add insult to political injury, responsibility for public works has been assigned to Zrinzo Azzopardi's District 5 rival, Omar Farrugia. 

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Jonathan Attard

Minister for Justice and Reform of the Construction Sector

Previously: Minister for Justice

Attard was one of the winners of Saturday's reshuffle, as he kept his prestigious Justice portfolio while also being given the additional responsibility of overseeing 'reform of the construction sector'. 

Abela's decision to make the latter a ministerial portfolio in its own right - and to entrust it to the Justice Minister - is in itself a tacit acknowledgement that the sector has operated as a legislative wild west of sorts.

It could also be an indication that the government is expecting some significant, and damning, conclusions from the Sofia public inquiry.

Time will tell whether the addition to Attard's ministerial portfolio will lead to any significant change or is just a cosmetic change. What is sure is that Attard is trusted by Abela, despite his relative lack of parliamentary experience. 

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Jo Etienne Abela

Minister for Health and Active Ageing

Previously: Minister for Active Ageing

Another big winner from Saturday's reshuffle, Jo Etienne Abela takes over as Health Minister from Chris Fearne while also retaining responsibility for Active Ageing, which will be overseen on a day-to-day basis by Malcolm Paul Agius Galea.  

Like Fearne, Abela is a respected surgeon who transitioned into politics and rapidly ascended the cabinet ladder. Less than two years into his political career, he finds himself in control of one of the government's most important portfolios.

It's a big win for the Gozitan and one that ensures he keeps up the pace with his district rival Clint Camilleri, who also got a major promotion.  

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Malcolm Paul Agius Galea

Parliamentary Secretary secretary for Active Ageing

Previously: Backbencher

Agius Galea is made a junior minister for the first time and will work under the oversight of minister Jo Etienne Abela, managing responsibility for active ageing. 

In practice, that means taking charge of entities like the Medicines Authority, St Vincent de Paul care home and ensuring community care services for senior citizens. 

The former Żebbuġ mayor is highly regarded within government circles and his promotion comes as no surprise to Labour insiders. 

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Chris Bonett

Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works

Previously: Parliamentary secretary for EU funds

Bonett gets promoted from parliamentary secretary to minister and is handed one of the beefiest ministerial portfolios of them all, taking over Aaron Farrugia's role while also overseeing the work of newly-appointed junior minister Omar Farrugia, who will be responsible for public works. Previously, that was Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi's patch. 

It's a massive vote of confidence for Bonett, a first-time MP who is less than two years into his parliamentary career. 

Bonett is now in a powerful and influential position, though it is also a rather precarious one: few things animate voters more than traffic or infrastructural problems

His predecessor had pledged major investment into cycling infrastructure and effectively kicked e-scooter rental firms out of the country. Will Bonett stick to that plan, or does he have his own ideas?  

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Omar Farrugia

Parliamentary Secretary for Public Works

Previously: Backbencher

Whoever is printing Farrugia's business cards has had a busy few weeks: just one month ago, the first-time MP was made chairman of Sport Malta. Now, he will have to relinquish that role to become a junior minister instead. 

Farrugia is a former mayor of Mqabba and is cabinet's youngest member at just 28. 

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Andy Ellul

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

Retained his previous portfolio

Ellul, who also serves as the government's whip, had a quiet weekend: his political portfolio remains unchanged, though he will now report to Chris Fearne. He previously served as a parliamentary secretary within the Office of the Prime Minister. 

The lawyer and former police officer had a busy first few years in office. Aside from introducing legislation to regulate the working conditions of food couriers and temping agencies, he was also a key player on the government's side in work to secure a minimum wage increase. 

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Glenn Bedingfield

Parliamentary Secretary for Public Cleanliness

Previously: Backbencher

Robert Abela had made a public pledge to do more to keep the country's streets clean, and it appears Glenn Bedingfield is his answer to that problem. 

It is the Cottonera MP's first cabinet post after he spent two years as government whip between 2020 and 2022 and his role represents a return to political prominence for public cleansing: the sector was left unassigned after Deo Debattista was left out of cabinet in 2022. 

His promotion could also be Abela's way of shoring up support within the Labour heartland, given that Bedingfield's district 2 colleague Chris Agius remains out of cabinet.

Bedingfield will work under the oversight of Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo. 

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Aaron Farrugia

No portfolio

Previously: Infrastructure, Transport and Capital Projects

It was a day that will be etched into Aaron Farrugia's memory for all the wrong reasons. Less than two years after being given responsibility for a super-ministry, he finds himself out of cabinet altogether and back among Labour's backbenchers. 

Farrugia was the only minister to suffer the ignominy of demotion and the decision is likely to damage him politically, especially given that he only scraped into parliament in the last general election. 

Was Abela unhappy with the pace of change? Did the grassroots complain about increased enforcement by Transport Malta? Was the decision to ban rental e-scooters taken prematurely? 

We still do not know what prompted the demotion.