Unless the Prime Minister changes his mind again, his Cabinet and himself will now be earning almost double what they were getting before the last election.

In 2008, when they faced the electorate, the ministers’ income was €42,000. During one of the very first meetings of the new Cabinet, they decided they deserved much more than that. They decided to give themselves a second salary but agreed not to tell anyone about it, not even all those who were directly affected and who are outside the inner circle.

At the time, they had decided to include the Leader of the Opposition in the list of office holders eligible for another salary. Neither the Prime Minister nor the Cabinet secretary ever informed the undersigned about this decision and never implemented it in my case.

I first got to know of this insensitive decision together with the public after the Finance Minister answered a parliamentary question fielded by Leo Brincat. I immediately said I would be refusing such an increase.

The double salary decision was made in such a furtive manner the ministers were not paid the parliamentary honorarium from the budget of the House of Representatives but, rather, through some unknown ministerial vote.

Now, even after refunding what was never their due, anyway, their new salary will be a few cents short of €71,000. It actually means a minister will be taking home an increase of €500 a week instead of €600, as was the case before Wednesday.

If the Prime Minister expected a national round of applause in response to this fudge of a proposal at the taxpayers’ expense, which was done 30 months late, he is clearly mistaken at best and insensitive at worst.

The only reason the Prime Minister decided to act was because his plans were, in his own words, “exposed” and because he feared losing a vote in Parliament. This move was certainly not of conviction but one merely dictated by convenience.

The Prime Minister and his Cabinet took the original decision to add on a parliamentary honorarium to their ministerial package, a closely guarded secret if ever there was one, at the same time they were deciding to increase utility rates.

It was also the time when we started hearing the mantra that the Prime Minister cannot implement his electoral promise to lower income tax because of all the reasons possible. The Prime Minister never failed one occasion to repeat it was a time for sacrifices from all Maltese and Gozitans.

Now we are in a situation where the Prime Minister is defending his decision to stick to a double salary and thinks that this country can afford it. Most importantly, he thinks his ministers deserve it.

How can these Nationalist Party exponents have the gall to almost double their own income is the question on everybody’s lips today. Whatever happened to the politics of leading by example?

However, the problem runs even deeper. Increasing ministers’ pay by 70 per cent simply epitomises and encapsulates the arrogant way in which the Prime Minister and his party are running this country.

The core principle is that of looking after the chosen few first, be they ministers or the usual suspects.

A sense of fair play and transparency have long been abandoned by GonziPN.

This is no one off. This is not a solitary mistake. This is quite simply the tip of the iceberg of arrogance and insensitivity that has regretfully been the hallmark of this Administration ever since it sought to be elected by telling us that “together everything is possible”.

Who would have thought the “everything” in the pre-election political slogan included almost doubling their own pay by stealth?

Dr Muscat is Leader of the Opposition.