By defying all odds and winning last March’s election, Lawrence Gonzi was given a mandate to trim his cabinet by weeding out the weakest links. He honoured his pledge by ditching veteran former ministers like Jesmond Mugliett and Francis Zammit Dimech.
Nor did he bow to the pressure of rewarding popular upstarts like Robert Arrigo or Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, both of whom managed to get elected from two districts.
As things stand, 33 opposition MPs shall be shadowing eight government ministers and six parliamentary secretaries. Unlike the Prime Minister, by promoting everyone except Alfred Sant to the shadow Cabinet, new Labour leader Joseph Muscat seems more concerned with keeping the party united, than in presenting an alternative team of potential ministers.
Surely Muscat has not invented the wheel. Ever since 1998, every Labour MP was appointed a spokesperson by former leader Alfred Sant but Muscat has lost a chance to break with tradition and present a tight and compact alternative cabinet.
This also means that everyone, Silvio Parnis included, is a potential minister in a future Labour Cabinet.
Twenty out of Labour’s 35 MPs have been bestowed with the additional title of “main” spokesperson, thus retaining a hierarchy within the Labour bench. Yet 20 is still too large a number to field as a potential Cabinet line-up, especially when the international trend in Europe is for slimmer governments (a country as large as France has only 15 ministers: just one more than Spain).
Coming in the wake of a divisive leadership race, Muscat’s decision to keep everyone on board seems bent on healing the rifts within his own parliamentary group.
The leadership contest pitted Muscat against three of his own MPs: namely Evarist Bartolo, Michael Falzon and Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. Although not an MP, his main rival George Abela also enjoyed the vocal support of Labour MP Marlene Pullicino, and the less vocal support of other MPs like Adrian Vassallo.
Yet by dishing titles on every single MP on the opposition benches, Muscat has sacrificed quality for quantity. The only Labour MP to be left out is Alfred Sant. In so doing Muscat has sent a clear message that he won’t risk being overshadowed in any way by his predecessor. Although tipped as Sant’s own favourite for the succession and long perceived as the former leader’s “poodle”, Muscat has shown no qualms in showing him the door.
Surely by giving a job to each MP including his rivals for the post of leader, Muscat is keeping everyone on probation. From now on every single Labour MP has to prove himself or herself. There is no room for complacency, as nobody on Labour’s side can chill out on the backbench.
Still, some of the titles bestowed on some Labour MPs appear superfluous and artificial.
For example, Adrian Vassallo has been appointed spokesperson for patient rights – a role which should be the main focus of health shadow minister Karl Chircop.
Probably the most superfluous role was that awarded to Noel Farrugia, who lost his post as Labour’s spokesperson on agriculture to hunting enthusiast Joe Sammut, and in return will be experimenting with his new portfolio on international development aid – a very modern political outlook for Labour surely, but one which finds Farrugia as the unlikeliest candidate to speak on Third World issues.
Some appointments seem solely aimed at quelling dissent and discontent on Labour’s benches. Had he not shocked the party by resigning on the day Muscat became leader, it is extremely doubtful whether veteran Labour MP Joe Debono Grech would have been retained as the Opposition’s main spokesperson on the army, ports and defence. Yet the party now faces the risk of having a political maverick, long past his expiry date, shadowing the Prime Minister on the army.
All three MPs who rivalled Muscat in the leadership contest have been promoted to main spokespersons. Evarist Bartolo has made a welcome comeback to education, replacing the ineffectual Carmelo Abela who failed to adequately defend the reception class proposal in the run-up to the election. By adding PBS to his portfolio, Muscat has also chosen Bartolo as Labour’s equivalent to Dolores Cristina.
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca’s appointment as tourism spokesperson comes as a surprise. Long associated with social welfare and the plight of the poor, Coleiro Preca will have to transform her image from that of a people’s tribune to that of business-friendly face. Yet by appointing her to such a strategic post Muscat has shown trust in his former rival for the party’s top post.
Satisfying an embittered Michael Falzon after his poor showing in the leadership race must have been no easy task for Muscat. In the end, he was rewarded with a super portfolio which includes the police and immigration. Falzon’s known sympathies for hunters and fireworks enthusiasts does not bode well for the opposition law and order chief. And his acumen on immigration issues remains untested.
George Vella – one of the main sponsors of Muscat’s leadership bid – was rewarded with a return to the foreign policy portfolio. However, Vella’s abrupt conversion from belligerent euro-scepticism to enthusiasm for the Lisbon Treaty might not be enough to convince voters who still doubt Labour’s European credentials. The appointment of up and coming Luciano Busuttil as spokesperson for European Affairs could be aimed at counterbalancing Vella’s euro-sceptic past.
Despite having served in the Cabinet of three previous labour leaders – Dom Mintoff, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici and Alfred Sant – the well-read Leo Brincat manages to strike a chord with middle of the road voters through his mild manners and progressive political stance. His appointment as the party’s main spokesperson for the environment indicates that Brincat’s star is still rising.
Another rising star is Muscat’s erstwhile friend Chris Cardona, whose “sexy” portfolio includes Smart City and IT. Gavin Gulia is also back to his original role as the party’s voice on small businesses- a role he already occupied in Alfred Sant’s cabinet.
On the other hand the popular Silvio Parnis, who presents tear jerker programme M’Intix Wahdek, hosting destitute families and other troubled people, has been moved away from the social welfare field. Labour’s former spokesperson for the elderely has now been given the consumer protection portfolio.
Helena Dalli, who was retained in her post, now faces the huge responsibility of shadowing Austin Gatt on the tricky issue of the privatisation of the dockyard: an issue on which Labour has to walk a tightrope between defending workers without alienating middle class support.
The appointment of newcomer Anthony Zammit as Labour’s spokesperson on minority rights, animal rights and civil society, also represents Muscat’s sensitivity to political niches who have so far been neglected by the party.
Some of Muscat’s appointments could also raise problems of conflict of interests. MEPA employee Roderick Galdes will be shadowing the Prime Minister’s MEPA reform. Charles Buhagiar, an architect whose company bids for infrastructural tenders, will be shadowing the government’s infrastructural projects.
At face value, Karmenu Vella’s appointment as coordinator of Labour’s spokespersons confirms the trust the business-friendly old Labour politician enjoys. Yet, one expects Muscat to lead and coordinate his foot soldiers, and Vella’s post could be largely a ceremonial one. This could be an indication that Vella is more interested in his private business, now that he has reached the autumn of his political career.

jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt