Malta's Twittersphere caught ablaze within minutes of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announcing a Cabinet reshuffle today, with reactions swinging wildly from adulation to ridicule.
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil was first off the mark, calling the reshuffle "an utter farce". Front Harsien ODZ co-founder Michael Briguglio reached much the same conclusion, saying the Prime Minister's decision was "worse than half-baked."
Ridicule from Nationalist officials and MPs then began in earnest.
But the Prime Minister could count on the backing of his Justice Minister Owen Bonnici and ONE journalists Aleander Balzan and Anthony David Gatt, among others.
Former Environment Minister Leo Brincat said he was "honoured" by the decision to nominate him to the European Court of Auditors.
Alternattiva Demokratika was unimpressed by today's "recycling" exercise, as was the Civil Society Network, which said its May 7 protest would go ahead as planned. "We are calling for the resignations of Mizzi and Schembri," they said.