Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this evening that decisions had been taken today on the format of the Cabinet to bring it in line with the new government’s priorities and the fact that Malta had to prepare for and then assume the presidency of the EU.
Speaking on 'Close-up' on PBS, Dr Muscat said he would decide on the names of the ministers in the coming hours once the electoral results came in, and he expected to make his announcement on Wednesday morning.
He said he had already spoken to some of the elected candidates asking them whether he could consider them to serve in the government in view of their professions.
The new Cabinet, he said, would be slightly larger than the old one so that the ministers could focus more, and to ensure that some sectors were not lost in mega-ministries, as had happened.
For example, the finance minister should be focused on the budget, with another minister for the economy.
The EU presidency, he said, would fall within the responsibility of one of the ministers, and the opposition would be invited to participate in what should be a national event.
There would be ministers and parliamentary secretaries, he said, and there could be persons in charge of specific tasks. Members of the opposition could be involved in such tasks and projects as well, he said.
There would be a person who would work on modernising the sector of civil liberties.
EXCHANGE OF PHONE CALLS WITH DR GONZI
Dr Muscat said he phoned Dr Gonzi after the election on Saturday at 11.30 p.m. to wish him well, saying both had been loyal to one another. Dr Gonzi phoned him at 11.35 a.m. on Sunday. He congratulated him on the Labour victory and told him he would make an announcement and start the transition process.
Dr Muscat said Dr Gonzi was serene because he had done what he felt was good for the country.
Asked whether Dr Gonzi deserved a defeat of 36,000 votes, Dr Muscat said the writing had long been on the wall. What Dr Gonzi had suffered from was his failure to take some decisions in their proper time. For example, the country had spent a year practically in limbo with Dr Gonzi's advisers telling him to postpone decisions despite the government's problems.
Questioned on the new appointments in the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Muscat said Dr Godwin Grima, head of the civil service had indicated that he felt it was his time to move on and he (Dr Muscat) had agreed. Mario Cutajar had therefore been made designate head of the Civil service, as well as Cabinet Secretary.
Dr Muscat said he did not think Keith Schembri, his new chief of staff, would have a conflict of interest. The fact that he had a business background was a plus, he said, but Mr Schembri, a childhood friend and the Labour campaign manager, was divesting himself of all business directorships. Furthermore, his companies did not tender for government contracts.
ENERGY PLAN
Dr Muscat said he was confident that the time frames of the energy plan would be met and the government would work fast within the limits of EU rules. The private sector was showing an interest he said. A number of consortia had indicated interest in the government's line of thinking. The plan was to have major decisions taken on the expression of interest by the summer.
The people, he said, seemed to have to used to delays. For example, he would seek to find out, in the coming hours, what had happened to the Cirkewwa ferry terminal, which was to have opened, after much delay, but which was not. He had heard there were some difficulties.
He also wanted to find out the real stage of the power interconnector project and whether any power purchase agreement had been reached.
Asked about any role for Franco Debono, he said he would consider the draft he had prepared on the party funding law. The new government, he said, was prepared to work with anyone wishing to work with it. He said the same applied for Jesmond Mugliett although he said he had no specific plans.
COLLEAGUES WHO DID NOT MAKE IT
He also looked forward to continue to work with some of his colleagues who had surprisingly not been elected such as Anthony Zammit, Gavin Gulia, Charles Mangion, Michael Falzon, Deborah Schembri, Gino Cauchi and Jason Micallef.
He was also disappointed at the small number of women who had been elected.
Dr Muscat said he had not taken a decision yet on whether the Speaker should come from the Labour parliamentary group or from outside. He did not say whether Anglu Farrugia was within his plans.
He was also thinking on the appointment of a new President and what sort of message it should send to society - including whether this should be a man or a woman and whether he/she should come from the political class.