Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana appeared to take a swipe at her predecessor Anton Refalo who on Wednesday said that in view of current circumstances, he may not always be in a position to translate his constituents' confidence in him into work for them.

In a post on Thursday, Dr Caruana said she is the minister for Gozo and for all Gozitans, whoever they may be.

"I want to work with everybody and for everybody and my door is always open," she wrote.  

Anton Refalo was parliamentary secretary for Gozo in the Alfred Sant government between 1996 and 1998 and Gozo Minister in Joseph Muscat's first government between 2013 and 2017. But despite doing well in the polls, he was not re-appointed, with the ministry going to Dr Caruana instead.

Dr Refalo was also passed over in the recent reshuffle. According to reports, Prime Minister Robert Abela had initially intended to hand the ministry to another Gozitan MP, Clint Camilleri, but Dr Caruana persuaded him to retain her instead.

Mr Camilleri was instead promoted to minister from parliamentary secretary, retaining responsibility for agriculture and fisheries. He was also given responsibility for consumer affairs. 

 

 

 

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