People appointed to top positions in the public sector should act “apolitically even in their free time and on social media”, according to a business leader.

Anton Borg, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, dropped the warning during a council meeting for which the Prime Minister was invited.

In a short dispassionate analysis of the current state of affairs, Mr Borg praised the government for its initiatives to encourage work, reduce dependency on social benefits and engage in public-private partnerships.

But at the same time he expressed concern on deficiencies in good governance.

He called for improved procedures to appoint the country’s top positions, insisting these should be based on meritocracy not political allegiance.

His mentioning of behaviour on social media may have been a veiled reference to Ronnie Pellegrini, chief of staff at the Civil Liberties Ministry, who recently posted a comment beneath a story that claimed Labourite employees at a home for the elderly were being given favourable treatment. “That is how it should be,” Mr Pellegrini wrote.

The Equality Ministry clarified later that Mr Pellegrini had been referring to the investigation of the claims by the Family Ministry.

Social media comments also came back to haunt the recently installed Police Commissioner Laurence Cutajar, who had posted partisan Facebook messages back in 2013.

Mr Borg also expressed concern over energy tariffs, which he said were higher than the European average and the price of fuel.

“The policy to seek stability [in the price of fuel] is good but at a time when oil prices have remained low for a long stretch, it is time to re-assess tariff stability,” he said.

The media were only invited to follow the introductory remarks. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat did not react to these remarks.

However, Dr Muscat shared the Chamber’s concern over Malta’s low ranking in the index on ease of doing business, adding further measures to simplify procedures were being taken.

Dr Muscat said the various reforms undertaken over the past three years, including the energy sector, labour market reforms and healthcare, were not haphazard.

The reforms happened within a vision that saw the economy grow at an unprecedented pace to the extent that demand for jobs in some sectors was growing more than supply.

Dr Muscat said a social shift happened, which saw a reduction of 40 per cent in people dependent on social benefits and an increase in 14 per cent of people earning between €20,000 and €30,000.