There will be no major reshuffle if at all as Joseph Muscat considers his options to fill a vacancy at the European Court of Auditors.
The Prime Minister is not too keen to rejig his Cabinet past the midway juncture, according to sources close to the government.
“This is a time when ministers would want to see projects and initiatives come to fruition, and upheaval at this stage will not give newcomers enough time to settle down,” the sources said.
This is a time when ministers want to see projects and initiatives come to fruition, and upheaval at this stage will not give newcomers enough time to settle down
When contacted, Environment Minister Leo Brincat yesterday denied having been offered the post at the European Court of Auditors.
Strong rumours had linked him to the vacancy. “I have not been offered the post and neither been approached. I know as much as you do, probably less,” Mr Brincat said.
Government sources said the Prime Minister was considering names from outside the Cabinet for the EU post but could not rule out that the nominee would eventually be a Cabinet member.
If a vacancy arises in Cabinet, the change is likely to be minimal and could include a redistribution of portfolios but no new names, according to the sources.
Moving Mr Brincat out could compound the Labour Party’s electoral problems on the ninth district, according to observers close to the party.
Electoral considerations will be taken into account after Michael Falzon’s resignation as parliamentary secretary this week.
The sources said that, while Dr Muscat would have to manage the national fallout from the Gaffarena scandal, his eyes were also set on the realities of Malta’s district-based electoral system.
A former party deputy leader with strong ties to the party grassroots, Dr Falzon is the second Labour MP from the ninth and 10th districts to fall from grace.
He follows Manuel Mallia, a top lawyer, who was forced out by the Prime Minister after a shooting incident involving his driver.
Speculation has been rife over the past few weeks that a major reshuffle would take place and Dr Mallia would be drafted back into the Cabinet.
But sources close to Labour said any such move would irritate Dr Falzon’s followers and only serve to rub salt in the wound.
“Michael [Falzon] is a party loyalist widely respected by activists who rally around at election time and reappointing [Manuel] Mallia, who had to be removed by the Prime Minister, would not go down too well,” the sources said.
Dr Mallia was elected from the ninth and 10th districts, polling with the highest number of votes from all the Labour candidates in both districts.
On the flip side, Dr Falzon only made it to Parliament through a casual election for the seat vacated by Dr Mallia on the 10th district despite having polled more than 2,000 votes.
Dr Muscat will tomorrow be in Gżira, a locality that forms part of the 10th district, addressing supporters in the series of Sunday political meetings.
The Prime Minister is likely to use the occasion to eulogise Dr Falzon in front of his own supporters by emphasising how he shouldered political responsibility by resigning.
The ninth district comprises Msida, Swieqi, San Ġwann and Għargħur while the 10th is made up of Sliema, Gżira, Pembroke and St Julian’s.
In both of these districts, the Labour Party made significant advances in the last election, seeing its share of the vote increase by five points in the 10th and seven points in the ninth.
The Cabinet departures of Dr Falzon and Dr Mallia have left Mr Brincat and Evarist Bartolo, elected respectively from the ninth and 10th districts, as the only Cabinet members from the region.
Dr Muscat’s actions over the next few days are likely to be fuelled by party considerations as he tries to limit the damage from a scandal that was left to drag on for nine months.