Former minister Justyne Caruana has thanked Robert Abela for reaching out to her but has refused to comment about whether she will be returning to politics. 

“I thank him for his comments and no more comments,” Caruana told Times of Malta on Monday. 

Caruana resigned as minister twice over a period of two years, but Abela appeared to be opening the door to her once more earlier this month when he  mentioned her in an interview on TVM’s Xtra as he was asked for his reaction about Labour MEP Josianne Cutajar’s decision not to seek re-election.

Former minister Justyne Caruana was short on comments on whether she will be contesting for the upcoming European Parliament elections. Video: Chris Sant Fournier

He described Caruana as a “person that the Maltese political scene has lost”. Both Cutajar and Caruana are from Gozo.

The former Gozo minister resigned in January 2020 following Times of Malta reports on her then-husband’s friendship with alleged Daphne Caruana Galizia murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech.

After 11 months, she was re-appointed to cabinet as education minister. But around a year later, she was once again forced to resign after an 89-page report compiled by the Standards Commissioner found that Caruana had given her friend Daniel Bogdanović a €15,000 contract. 

Sources close to the government and the PL said the party would like her to run in June’s European Parliament elections. Previously Abela also said he spoke to Caruana "frequently" but had no intention of divulging what the two discussed. 

Caruana continued to keep her cards close to her chest on Monday when asked if anyone in the party had reached out to her to contest. 

“I’m going to work if you don’t mind, don’t disturb me anymore,” she said as she walked into the law courts. 

Abela has also opened the door for the return of former prime minister Joseph Muscat as a candidate for the European Parliament elections and to Rosianne Cutajar's return to the Labour parliamentary group. 

The Sunday Times reported this week that the majority of cabinet members say they would support Muscat as a candidate for the European elections. 

Abela and Muscat were seen together on Friday during an activity at the Labour Party headquarters. 

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