The new competitiveness minister Manuel Mallia is adamant that people can trust his judgement, despite his sacking in 2014 over allegations that members of his secretariat tried to play down the gravity of a shooting involving his driver.

“I think people can [trust my judgement]. When I spoke in Parliament there was a strong response on Facebook to my speech. During the period when I was no longer a minister I found support from numerous Maltese and Gozitans.

“If you want to know the truth, most people tell me they feel sorry for me because they think I had nothing to do with it [the shooting],” Dr Mallia said.

In parliament last month Dr Mallia spoke on how speculation destroyed many a politician's career and disuaded many other worthy people from seeking a political career. This, he said, was a loss for the country.

Politicians who unjustly threw mud at others also undermined public confidence in politicians as a whole, he added. Parliament's time, therefore, should not be wasted and politicians should seek to regain public confidence in themselves and in the institutions. More importantly, they should not harm the country and lose what it had already gained.

Asked about his plans for the gaming sector and how he intends to crack down on money laundering, Dr Mallia said he could not answer technical questions at this early stage given that he was only reappointed as a minister last Thursday.

Dr Mallia said he would be meeting with his predecessor today for a handover.

Asked about potential conflict of interests in his new role given his €1 million in bond holdings, Dr Mallia said the majority of these are government bonds and bonds bought by BOV on his behalf. 

 

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