Updated 1.30pm

Prime Minister Robert Abela has insisted cabinet ministers are not worried about a potential reshuffle. 

Taking questions from journalists on Monday, Abela said that reports of uncertainty and unease among ministers were not true. 

A number of ministers and parliamentary secretaries have told Times of Malta of a growing sense of discomfort in cabinet, with some feeling as though they may soon be out of a job.

Speculation about a potential reshuffle began when Labour’s star MEP Miriam Dalli left Brussels to take up a seat in Malta’s parliament. 

This was followed by Abela’s own chief of staff, Clyde Caruana also taking up a seat in the House. 

Both have been tipped for senior cabinet posts. 

Although Abela dismissed concerns of any instability arising from a perceived lack of decision-making on the reshuffle, he would not rule out a change of ministerial portfolios could be on the horizon. 

He said that whenever that decision is taken, it would be in the best interest of the country. 

Earlier Abela also weighed in on Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola’s appointment as Vice President of the European Parliament. 

Asked why he had not congratulated her on landing the top EU job, Abela said he was happy for any citizen that did well in their career. 

However, he hit out at what he described as unfair criticism of Malta’s cash-for-passports scheme, which he said Metsola had made into her mission. 

Malta is currently facing legal action from the European Commission over the controversial Individual Investor Program.

Roberta Metsola reacts

In a statement, Metsola said later on Monday that she had never asked for Abela to congratulate her.  

“But that he is too weak, too insecure, too blinkered, to see beyond his Labour Party brief or that he only sees the country in shades of red or blue should tell you all you need to know about the man, and how far out of his depth he is in the office he holds,” she said.  

“I am grateful to the members of his Cabinet and many members of the Party he leads who got in touch and who understood what this means for the country and for every girl and boy looking at getting involved in politics.

"My message to them, particularly all the girls reading this, is: Keep standing up. Do not let Malta’s geographic realities hold you back, we are not as small as our Prime Minister seems to think - there is no limit to your potential.”