The PN leader yesterday accused the Prime Minister of taking the Opposition for granted and warned him not to expect its backing for Karmenu Vella as the next European Commissioner.
Simon Busuttil later softened his tone, saying this did not necessarily mean the Opposition would not support Mr Vella’s nomination.
Giving a speech at a political activity in Għajnsielem, Dr Busuttil complained that the Opposition had not been consulted on the decision to nominate Mr Vella for the EU post, drawing a parallel with the nomination of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca for president.
Branding the decision as “premature and strange”, he said that as leader of the Opposition he had neither been informed nor consulted.
“I hope the government will not be expecting the Opposition’s support, as this cannot be taken for granted,” he said. If the Prime Minister wanted the Opposition’s backing he had to work hard for it and not view it as something automatic.
It is still early days before Mr Vella’s nomination is put to the vote in the European Parliament, towards the end of the year. But Dr Busuttil’s remarks raised the question of whether the outgoing tourism minister would enjoy unanimous political support, as had the current Maltese commissioner Tonio Borg when he was nominated to replace John Dalli in 2012.
Probed on his intentions by Times of Malta after his speech, Dr Busuttil said he had only wanted to make the point that the government could no longer take the Opposition for granted. He clarified that this would not necessarily mean the PN would not support Mr Vella.
In his address, Dr Busuttil branded the Cabinet reshuffle announced on Saturday as a forced one, dictated by the resignation of the Health Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly.
Dr Busuttil called the appointment of Konrad Mizzi as Health and Energy Minister as “an insult”, arguing that the person responsible for the decision to have a permanent gas storage facility in Marsaxlokk should never have been given this portfolio.
These developments were worrying as health had been downgraded to a parliamentary secretariat, days after the government pledged to give the highest priority to this sector, he said.
He also questioned having the Occupational Health and Safety Authority in the same portfolio as energy, saying this would undermine the autonomy of the safety watchdog.
The “divisive approach” taken by Dr Mizzi throughout the controversy surrounding the new power station did not bode well for reaching a national consensus on healthcare, Dr Busuttil said.
The person responsible for the decision to have a permanent gas storage facility in Marsaxlokk should never have been given this portfolio
He also accused the Prime Minister of shying away from the media, saying he should have addressed a news conference to explain the reasoning behind the reshuffle.
Taking a dig at Dr Muscat, who went on record saying that a Labour government would guarantee the best Cabinet ever, the PN leader said that at most it could only be second best.
The reshuffle had dealt a final blow to the Malta Tagħna Lkoll slogan, as well as “Labour’s movement of moderates and progressives”.
“Even Cabinet members feel they can no longer work with the Prime Minister.”
Dr Busuttil also criticised the decision to keep Franco Mercieca’s resignation under wraps for several weeks.
The Prime Minister had lost the opportunity to downsize the biggest ever Cabinet which was costing €100 million.
He expressed disappoint-ment that Manuel Mallia (Home Affairs) and Anton Refalo (Gozo) had retained their posts, in spite of all the controversies surrounding them.
Turning his attention to Gozo and the forthcoming European Parliament elections, Dr Busuttil said residents of the sister island had the opportunity to pass judgement on whether the Labour government had done enough for them in its first year in office.
He also said that the PN’s decision to support the nomination of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca for President was testament to the PN’s political maturity and commitment in favour of national unity.
The Opposition was taking a constructive approach, he added: out of 25 laws enacted in the past year, the Opposition had only voted against on four occasions.
The Labour Party said Dr Busuttil could not come to terms with the fact that utility bills were being reduced, and was thus resorting to attacking the Energy Minister.