Louis Grech appointed Leader of the House

Deputy Prime Minister is the new Leader of the House, replacing former deputy Prime Minister and current EU Commissioner Tonio Borg.

This was confirmed during a press conference in Parliament addressed by Speaker Anglu Farrugia and the Whips from both sides of the House, Carmelo Abela and David Agius.

The Leader of the House is a member of the Cabinet who is responsible for arranging government business in Parliament. Traditionally, the deputy Prime Minister occupies the role, although in the previous legislature, former Justice and Home Affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici had briefly occupied the position, before his resignation as minister in May 2012.

The Leader of the Housesits on the House Business Committee which discusses and decides the Parliament's agenda.

The other members of the House Business Committee are Labour whip Carmelo Abela and his deputy Deborah Schembri, while the Opposition will be represented by outgoing deputy leader Simon Busuttil and whip David Agius.

The committee took centre stage during last year's political turmoil with previous Leader of the House Tonio Borg leading the PN administration's attempts to delay or postpone crucial Parliamentary votes at the height of the internal troubles within government.