Economy Minister Silvio Schembri on Friday downplayed former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s re-emergence as a consultant on the government’s COVID-19 economic recovery plan. 

Fielding questions during a news conference, Schembri questioned if a meeting Muscat had with his successor Robert Abela was really the biggest concern in the country at the moment. 

Apart from the meeting, an economic note compiled by Muscat has been circulated to Cabinet. 

Abela has said Muscat is not being paid for advising the government. 
Schembri said it “bothered him” how every time Muscat did something, there were attempts to demonise him. 

Muscat announced his resignation last December soon after his chief of staff and best friend Keith Schembri was questioned in connection with journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination. 

Schembri said he had hundreds of meetings with hundreds of people and 
“If the biggest worry is that Joseph Muscat had a meeting, then there really isn’t much to worry about in this country”, Schembri remarked. 

Replying to another question about Muscat, Schembri said Malta is a small country and all its available resources had to be used to fight the current crisis. 
“If someone wants to provide their opinion, we are open to everyone.

Consultation meetings take place daily, Joseph Muscat is one of many. He, like other economists, have continued to contribute”, Schembri said. 

Joseph Muscat in November days after the arrest of Melvin Theuma over the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

On a report by the Standards Commission flagging misuse of public resources to boost ministers’ private social media profiles, Schembri denied spending “a single cent” of public money to do this. 

He said the government and Standards Commissioner had agreed on guidelines to regulate the use of public resources on social media spending. 

'Just like any other citizen'

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna meanwhile said there was “nothing odd” with Muscat being roped in to discuss the state of the economy. 

“Just like any other citizen is free to make his proposals - MPs, economists, other stakeholders, he [Muscat] made his and presented them to the government. When we prepare a Budget for instance, we meet with a lot of people so there is nothing odd about this,” he said.  

Scicluna also said that he had found out about Muscat’s meeting at the Auberge de Castille from the press, telling Times of Malta he had not been part of the decision to invite his former boss.  

He had received a copy of muscat’s proposals for economic recovery in the days after the meeting, and the veteran Scicluna said this was standard practice when consultations were held.