A PN mayor who defied party orders to resign amid a controversial local council high-rise vote has been nominated by the government as an ambassador.
Naxxar mayor Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami has been chosen by the Labour government as Malta’s non-resident ambassador to Bulgaria.
A parliamentary committee tasked with scrutinising government appointments was recently informed of her proposed role, ahead of a public grilling.
Muscat Fenech Adami faced pressure to resign as mayor in 2021, after ignoring party orders to vote against a massive residential and commercial complex on the former Naxxar trade fair grounds parking lot.
The vote and her subsequent refusal to resign triggered an internal PN ethics probe.
She was accused of failing to declare a conflict of interest in the proposed development, given her role as a company secretary in a firm partially owned by the architect behind the development.
Research by Times of Malta shows that the firm in question, Chalet Bulgari, owns shares in companies involved in Bulgarian property investment.
Muscat Fenech Adami has headed several delegations to Bulgaria for “cultural” and “folklore” events during her time as Naxxar mayor.
The PN’s ethics probe findings into Muscat Fenech Adami were never published and the mayor never faced disciplinary action, with the party merely saying in a short statement last year that “things could have been done better”.
Muscat Fenech Adami defended her vote in favour of the project by saying that it did not go against current planning policies.
“Although I am personally against high-rise development in Naxxar, I cannot be egoistical,” she said.
She also denied accusations of having a conflict of interest, saying: “I work with the company. It is not mine. Everyone has a job. They are two different jobs, and I see no conflict of interest.”
Her nomination was notified to parliament’s public appointments committee by Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg.
Labour councillors had backed Muscat Fenech Adami during the council vote controversy, with PL minority leader Marlon Brincat saying the mayor’s vote in favour of the project reflected the council’s “opinion”.
In reply to questions, a PN spokesperson said the party has “never stopped anyone from being of service to the country”. The party was informed of her nomination, which will undergo parliamentary scrutiny.