The European Central Bank did not have a say in the appointment of national central bank governors, a spokesman confirmed.
Questions were raised about the ECB’s role in such appointments after the government’s first choice for the post, Alfred Mifsud, found himself mired in corruption allegations, which he strongly denies.
National central bank governors sit on the ECB’s governing council.
The government did not pursue Mr Mifsud’s nomination after he himself asked Prime Minister Joseph Muscat not to consider him for the post. Economist Mario Vella was appointed instead.
Mr Vella took over from Josef Bonnici, a former Nationalist Cabinet minister, on July 1. Mr Vella, who served as Labour Party president for some time in the mid-1990s, studied at the universities of Malta, London and Berlin.
The Nationalist Party said Dr Vella’s nomination should be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee to ascertain he had the necessary qualifications in the financial and monetary sectors and the right experience to manage such a crucial institution.
It said that instead of placing the national interest first in the appointment, the Prime Minister opted to be partisan.
The position, the party added, required the necessary independence from the government of the day so that, if need be, the person appointed would criticise the government to encourage certain changes and to ensure there were the necessary checks and balances for the country’s economic and fiscal economy.
The Central Bank of Malta is an independent institution.
The ECB spokesman said Dr Vella’s appointment, as with any other, was regulated by national laws in which the Frankfurt-based European financial institution had no say. He refused to be drawn into the controversy surrounding Mr Mifsud, who has retained his role as deputy governor despite allegations that he took kickbacks when he was chairman of Mid-Med Bank 20 years ago.
Mr Mifsud has denied the claims and taken legal action.
The spokesman insisted the ECB’s silence on national affairs was the stand taken by the bank in similar situations in the past.
Mr Mifsud’s former partner has alleged via a blog that he received cash totalling thousands of euros from businessman Ronnie Demajo.
Mr Demajo was reportedly the representative of an American software company tasked by the bank to change its IT system.