Robert Abela has repeatedly travelled out of the country on holiday without appointing a replacement, according to government sources who raised concerns about the prime minister’s prolonged absence from the country. 

Multiple high-level government sources said that over the past two years, Abela has travelled out of the country for weekend getaways on a number of occasions without appointing an acting prime minister.

This has left the administration vulnerable to constitutional dilemmas as certain high-level orders can only be signed off by the prime minister.

These include executive orders linked to matters of national security. 

Abela was abroad repeatedly this month, but no acting prime minister was ever appointed, according to the Government Gazette.

Prices are rising, and we are being faced with voters’ complaints. When people ask, ‘where is the prime minister?’ are we supposed to tell them that he has spent August on his yacht?- source

The constitution says the president “may” authorise another member of cabinet to assume the role of acting prime minister “whenever the prime minister is absent from Malta or on vacation or is unable by reason of illness to perform the functions of his office”.

This is not a hard and fast obligation, but rather a longstanding practice.

“The issue isn’t that the PM hasn’t appointed an acting prime minister during his summer holiday. The issue is that his summer holiday seems to be lasting forever and he regularly vanishes on his boat without informing anyone throughout the rest of the year,” a cabinet minister said. 

Another source, a member of Labour’s parliamentary group, said that Abela’s prolonged absence risked alienating him from the electorate. 

“Prices are rising, and we are being faced with voters’ complaints. When people ask, ‘where is the prime minister?’ are we supposed to tell them that he has spent August on his yacht?” the MP said. 

The last official statement issued by Abela’s office through the Department of Information is dated June 24, some eight weeks ago. 

Local satirical social media page MaltaGifs uploaded a meme of Abela earlier this month in this take on the popular Where’s Waldo cartoons.

His social media accounts have been similarly dormant. The last image of Abela uploaded to Facebook on July 27 shows him shaking hands with a man wearing a thick winter coat. 

His last public engagement came at beginning of July when Abela met with Croatian President Zoran Milanović during a state visit to Malta. 

The last cabinet meeting was held in the last week of July with another one not scheduled for another 10 days. 

On a district level, complaints have been made about how Abela was not present for any of his constituency’s summer events, which include feasts in the fifth district.

Photos sent in by a reader show Abela leisurely strolling along a pontoon at the Marina di Ragusa on Friday afternoon where he moors his cabin cruiser.

Replying to questions sent on Friday, the Office of the Prime Minister did not say how many times Abela has left the country on vacation this year. Nor did the OPM comment on Abela’s practice of not appointing an acting prime minister. 

Instead, a spokesperson said: “The prime minister never relinquished his duties. The Cabinet weekly meetings were held regularly immediately following the general election, and no sessions were postponed. As is customary, Cabinet did not meet during the first weeks of August and will be convening again later this month.”

Replying to questions sent on Friday, the Office of the Prime Minister did not say how many times Abela has left the country on vacation this year. Nor did the OPM comment on Abela’s practice of not appointing an acting prime minister

Some 24 hours after receiving these questions, Abela went on the Labour Party’s radio station and gave a brief phone interview. It was his first interview in weeks. 

This is not the first time the Labour leader’s August holidaying has been the subject of concern. 

In the summer of 2020, Malta was still firmly in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the public and businesses complained of government-imposed restrictions, mobile phone footage of the prime minister sweating through an outdoor spinning class at the Sicilian marina and later walking along the promenade with ice cream, caused outrage back home.

At the time, Abela insisted that he had continued working remotely, coming back to Malta for a brief period before darting off back to Sicily a few days later.

He had said he understood why some, who had opted not to travel during the pandemic, may have been upset by the images, but insisted that even prime ministers deserve a break.