No Cabinet shake-up - Gonzi

The departure of John Dalli as Social Policy Minister to assume his new office of European commissioner would not cause an earthquake in the Cabinet's set-up, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

Instead, the country had to keep its focus on issues such as new jobs, investment, competitiveness and the energy sector, he told a political activity in Mellieħa.

Carefully avoiding the controversy that arose after Mr Dalli's nomination was made public, Dr Gonzi said former European Commissioner Joe Borg's performance over the past five years proved to the EU that Malta ranked among the best.

The Prime Minister had nothing but words of praise for Dr Borg who, he said, proved that the smallest EU member could contribute as much as the larger countries.

On Thursday, Mr Dalli was grilled for three hours by members of the European Parliament on his portfolio of health and consumer policy.

Dr Gonzi said Mr Dalli's replies made the whole country proud and he expressed his satisfaction at seeing all five Maltese MEPs behind Mr Dalli during the hearing.

Also, Mr Dalli's portfolio of health care and consumer affairs was a clear sign of trust by the EU, especially since other candidates from larger countries did not get as many responsibilities.

Speaking about the Malta Environment and Planning Authority reform Bill, launched on Friday, Dr Gonzi described it as a delicate and important reform that had to find the golden mean between development and the environment.

He hoped the Bill would be approved in Parliament by April but did not want to stifle the discussion by imposing deadlines.

However, he criticised the opposition's lack of feedback on the reform, especially after Labour leader Joseph Muscat announced in 2008 that a new committee would present the party's suggestions. "I was very pleased when I heard this but it's a good thing we didn't wait for them," he said. The implementation of the reform did not mean there would not be any more controversies because people would still be disappointed if their application was refused. But, at least, they would know the reasons and the criteria why it was turned down, Dr Gonzi said.

Finally, he turned to the recent legal notice which, after February 10, will give suspects under interrogation the right to contact their lawyers. Criticising the Labour media's coverage of the issue, Dr Gonzi said he was amazed by their superficiality and their attempts to hinder the process even when both sides agreed on it. Although the provision has featured in the Criminal Code for the past seven years, it was being enacted now to give the police time to prepare themselves, he said. "We wanted to be fair with those who are being investigated and with the victims."

Even though, for example, Nationalist MP Franco Debono pushed for the law, the Labour Party still decided to present a motion in Parliament on the issue and take all the credit, Dr Gonzi said.

Replying, the PL said Dr Gonzi was ready to accept the mediocrity the country got used to and was not aware of what was going on around him. As a result, it was not surprised that he did not know the PL carried out a public consultation about the Mepa reform, spoke to stakeholders and asked environmental experts to give their recommendations, the party said. The main problem with the reform was the long list of environmental scandals that came before it and the lack of a guarantee that these would not continue under Dr Gonzi's leadership, it added.

In an attempt to escape embarrassment by losing a vote in Parliament on Labour's recent motion on legal assistance, Dr Gonzi forgot that his own minister had said the law would come into force later this year, the PL said.