Manuel Mallia approved as Malta’s next high commissioner in London

Manuel Mallia is Malta’s next high commissioner in the UK after his nomination was approved by parliament’s Public Appointments Committee on Tuesday.

Mallia, a Labour MP, was approved by majority vote, although Opposition MPs voted against.

Mallia will be resigning from MP to take up his new role, however, during the grilling session he made it clear that irrespective of whether the committee approved his nomination or not, his political career was over.

The vacant parliamentary seat will have to be filled in by co-option, given that Mallia was elected in a casual election. His replacement will be the fourth MP on the government side to be elected by co-option after Miriam Dalli, Clyde Caruana and Oliver Scicluna.

In an explanation of the Opposition’s vote, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said that the decision to vote against Mallia’s nomination had no bearing on the veteran lawyer’s reputation.

“We disagree with government’s recourse to parliamentary co-options to choose MPs but at this juncture for Malta with the problems it faces abroad over its reputation we feel it is also not ideal to choose a politician as ambassador instead of a career diplomat,” Mifsud Bonnici said.

The committee is chaired by Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis and is composed of Labour MPs Clayton Bartolo, Deo Debattista and Joe Mizzi, and Nationalist MPs Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, Karol Aquilina and Claudette Buttigieg.

Mallia was questioned by MPs on the challenges his new role comes with in view of Brexit, the COVID pandemic and Malta’s reputational problems abroad.

Mallia served as a criminal lawyer for 47 years and entered politics in 2012 when he formally joined the Labour Party and was subsequently elected in the 2013 election.

He was made minister for home affairs in the first Labour government but was forced to resign in 2014 after his security driver was involved in a shooting incident.

In a Cabinet reshuffle two years later, Mallia was reappointed competitiveness minister.

In London, Mallia will be replacing outgoing High Commissioner Joseph Cole.