Zammit Lewis nomination shows Abela only interested in Labour’s partisan interests: PN

Edward Zammit Lewis’ nomination for European judge shows Prime Minister Robert Abela is only interested in serving the partisan interests of the Labour Party, the Opposition has said.

“It is unacceptable that, out of all the individuals who expressed interest in this role, the only person chosen was someone who was part of a government condemned by three judges for creating a climate of impunity that led to the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia,” justice spokesperson Karol Aquilina said.

Zammit Lewis is Malta’s nominee for European judge and will appear in front of a judicial advisory panel in Luxembourg, a senior government source has confirmed with this newspaper on Wednesday.

The Labour MP will be interviewed by the Comite 255, a seven-member panel that evaluates the suitability of candidates for judge and advocate-general of the EU courts.

“It is shameful that, as a Judge at the General Court of the European Union, the Government wants to send someone who is a close friend of Yorgen Fenech, the owner of the corrupt company 17 Black and the person accused in court of being the mastermind behind the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia,” Aquilina said. “These are facts that no interview or sham selection process can erase.”

He said even ‘Ġaħan’ would understand his nomination would inflict further reputational damage on the country. “Yet, Robert Abela's Government does not care and is persisting on its path of poor governance.”

“This decision further confirms what Zammit Lewis himself once wrote about the leadership of our country by a Labour Government: "Tfal u pożi…zero political competence." The tragedy is that no one is suffering from this irresponsible form of leadership other than the Maltese and Gozitan people,” the PN said.

The PN insisted nominated individuals should be based on merit and competence, not on partisan political convenience.

Repubblika slams nomination

Also criticising the nomination, NGO Repubblika slammed Zammit Lewis’s close ties with Yorgen Fenech.

“With this appointment, the government is showing that it has learned nothing, and that, for it, corruption in public life is excusable if the corrupt are from the same tribe,” it said. “We hope that Yorgen Fenech's past will be thoroughly examined by those who still need to decide on this objectionable appointment made by the government.”