Phyllis Muscat, who was appointed to the Chogm task force despite her diplomatic and political inexperience. Photo: Paul Spiteri Lucas

The Prime Minister has defended the chairwoman of the Chogm task force, Phyllis Muscat, professing his “complete faith” in her and her team in the aftermath of a highly critical interview in The Sunday Times of Malta.

Asked yesterday whether he still had faith in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) task force following the interview, in which Ms Muscat’s basic knowledge of the event seemed lacking, Joseph Muscat stressed he had faith in her and her team.

In the interview published last Sunday, Ms Muscat had difficulty answering some of the questions asked of her.

“I think everyone has his off days every once in a while,” he told this newspaper. “From the feedback we are getting from the Commonwealth Secretariat, this year’s summit is among the best prepared in advance.”

The website for the meeting, which will see 53 heads of government and their delegations being hosted in Malta, lacks essential details, such as event venues and themes.

This emerged during the interview, when Ms Muscat asked her assistant to refer to the site to review details she could not recall.

The themes for two of the four forums are not yet decided. The full list of topics is yet to be revealed, as Ms Muscat had some difficulty outlining them during last Sunday’s interview.

I think everyone has his off days every once in a while

Ms Muscat’s appointment has been controversial. Since she lacks diplomatic and political experience, many are questioning whether she will be able to meet the challenge of heading the organisation of the biannual summit meeting of 53 Commonwealth heads of government.

Ms Muscat’s background is in the cosmetics industry, where she has set up several businesses. Before that, she worked as a theatre nurse at St Luke’s Hospital.