Junior minister’s failure to shake Muscat’s hand ‘inadvertent mistake’

Malta's new parliamentary secretary for culture and local councils has stated that his failure to shake the hand of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Wednesday evening's swearing-in, was "an inadvertent mistake".

José Herrera, for the past decade a shadow minister for justice, was not given the ministerial post many would have expected him to have. Instead it was newly-elected Labour MP Manuel Mallia, who was elected on two districts, to be given the post of home affairs minister while young MP Owen Bonnici was given the job of parliamentary secretary for justice.

As it turns out, Herrera appeared to 'break ranks' with the rest of his colleagues - 14 ministers and eight parliamentary secretaries - when he failed to shake Muscat's hand after taking his oath. But the queer moment was evident as Muscat returned the snub with an icy stare.

"I am honoured and privileged that the Prime Minister has faith in me by appointing me parliamentary secretary for culture and local councils," Herrera told MaltaToday. "I will reciprocate this faith with hard work for the country. The lack of shaking hands with the Prime Minister during the swearing in ceremony was an inadvertent mistake which I regret."

Herrera is brother to magistrate Consuelo Herrera, and in 2012 he strongly supported the separation of the home affairs and justice ministries when they were under the stewardship of minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici.

The former Nationalist MP whose demands for a separate justice and home affairs ministry led to the resignation of Carm Mifsud Bonnici, has expressed no regret at seeing the two portfolios fused together under a minister and a junior minister. "At least two separate persons are responsible for justice and home affairs," Franco Debono said. "It's an improvement over the situation under Carm Mifsud Bonnici. Justice doesn't necessarily merit a ministry unless you add other responsibilities to that portfolio. It's not that vast.

"In reality, my criticism of Mifsud Bonnici was vindicated when he was not elected, and if he scrapes through into the House it will be through the law of proportionality."

Debono had embarked on a solo campaign to have home affairs and justice ministries separated, with vocal criticism of the stewardship of the justice portfolio by Mifsud Bonnici. When Lawrence Gonzi responded with a Cabinet reshuffle on 6 January, 2012, leaving Debono without the justice ministry, the MP broke ranks and finally forced the resignation of Mifsud Bonnici by supporting an Opposition motion of no confidence in the minister.