It is easy to make comparisons between the former Nationalist administration and Muscat’s government without understanding the brutal economic realities of the time, Lawrence Gonzi has cautioned.

“My government went through terrible years because of the financial crisis. And Malta sailed through with a positive outcome. I keep reading statements and I smile. Ten years ago the whole world was a disaster and we were doing very well, thank you very much,” the former prime minister said.

Dr Gonzi, who served as prime minister between 2004 and 2013 was speaking on Times Talk to mark the 15th anniversary of Malta’s EU membership.

Read: 15 years: taking stock of EU membership

Sounding an optimistic tone about Malta's successes inside the EU bloc, Dr Gonzi nevertheless warned about “black holes” that have weighed down the country, notably issues like the environment and the lack of maturity in politics. He said the biggest disappointment of membership was the way EU leaders dealt with the issue of migration in the southern Mediterranean, despite the advice given by the EU institutions. 

Taking a snapshot of the present political situation, he said the government should heed international recommendations on judicial appointments system, saying Malta was facing an unprecedented situation.

Lawrence Gonzi is greeted by then Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker in 2005.

Malta had put the spotlight on itself, the former Prime Minister agreed, saying the country cannot ignore the Venice Commission’s advice to revise the judicial appointment system, even if it had remained unchanged since the Nationalist Party’s administration.

The government appointed three new judges and three magistrates last Thursday, despite a report by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission that said the mechanism of appointments “falls short of ensuring judicial independence”.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the changes will take place and described as “absurd” calls to ask the court to declare appointments under the current system as null.

I try to defend my country as much as I can but there are some questions that are impossible to answer

But his predecessor said the country should change the selection system at once since it is facing questions it never faced them before.

“I have every respect for people who accept to become a judge but sometimes I question whether the choice of the individual, the history, the background, the career is being taken sufficiently into consideration. To be a judge is not just about honesty and knowing the law – but you have to project that image. This is a small country, we know each other. For us, it’s even more important to follow this advice,” Dr Gonzi said.

The Panama Papers scandal hit a number of countries and consequences were shouldered all over the world, except in Malta.

“It’s therefore not surprising that overseas they ask what happens in our country. I try to defend my country as much as I can but there are some questions that are impossible to answer.”

Dr Gonzi was diplomatic when asked how he felt that Nationalist leader Adrian Delia appeared to be adopting the same anti-foreigner rhetoric that Alfred Sant had warned about before the EU referendum.

“If the economy needs more foreigners, then fine, but do we have other Maltese who are employed with the government who could be redirected to doing other jobs? I personally am worried by the fact that the public sector in Malta has grown exponentially when in my time we tried our best to reduce the employees.”

Pressed to say whether he would use Dr Delia’s same tones, which some have described as xenophobic, he diplomatically replied: “I don’t think I would.”