Public Appointments Committee approves Randolph De Battista as Geneva ambassador

Parliament’s Public Appointments Committee approved Labour MP Randolph De Battista’s nomination as Malta’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva on Monday.

He was formally approved by four votes to two. All government MPs on the committee voted in favour of the appointment, while Opposition MPs voted against.

Prime Minister Robert Abela had announced government intended to appoint Randolph De Battista as Geneva ambassador last month.

Addressing the committee, MP Adrian Delia said the committee does not question De Battista’s competencies, but was concerned with how the appointment was made.

“We believe that this appointment is purely political, motivated not so much by the competences but by the need to remove an outspoken member of parliament from the government benches,” he said. “We cannot approve such a move.”

During a session lasting around 30 minutes, De Battista faced questioning over his nomination, with the main focus on concerns raised by the opposition regarding his abrupt shift from serving as an MP to assuming a diplomatic position.

Delia questioned whether the appointment was merely intended to remove De Battista from his current parliamentary role.

From his end, government minister Clayton Bartolo defended the appointment, saying it should be based on competence. He also pointed that De Battista had previously contributed at a diplomatic level, and the appointment of non-career diplomats was more transparent than ever.

De Battista avoided engaging in political debate but emphasised that his role as ambassador would require a different approach from his political responsibilities.

Delia concluded by questioning whether De Battista’s outspoken political views would be silenced in his new diplomatic role, to which De Battista responded that his work would continue, but in a different context, serving Malta on the international stage.

During his presentation and in response to the questions posed, De Battista highlighted his experience as part of former deputy prime minister Louis Grech’s team.

He emphasised the contacts he had established over the years at the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, and with the assistant to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

He expressed his belief in multilateral diplomacy and said he expected to focus his attention on health and human rights, especially children’s rights.

Geneva serves as the United Nations' European base and also hosts the headquarters of several international organisations.

An outspoken MP, De Battista also occupied the role of Labour CEO, a role which he resigned from following Labour’s poor showing in the European Parliament Election.

He was co-opted into parliament by Prime Minister Robert Abela in 2022 following a vacated seat on the ninth district. He had not contested the General Election.