Muscat’s reshuffle: more than musical chairs

The appointment of Silvio Parnis – a southern Labour heavyweight with a fondness for hair gel – as a spokesperson “for sustainable development of the south” may best exemplify Joseph Muscat’s savvy (albeit devious), way of doing politics.

It was just two years ago that Muscat moved Parnis – whose constituency power is built upon his tearjerker TV shows on Smash TV (commercial airtime for sale to who pays up) featuring the wretched of the earth – from the domain of social welfare to consumer affairs.

Now that consumer affairs appear to be rising in his government’s priorities, with Gozitan parliamentary secretary Chris Said building a prominent role on the issue, the Labour leader has appointed the soft-spoken and articulate Michael Farrugia (formerly health shadow) to take on Said.

Parnis, on the other hand, popular but undoubtedly intellectually limited, has been lumbered with a post that offers no prospects of ministerial advancement. He will build a strong constituency base by sticking his neck out on issues such as the black dust saga. But without his very own counterpart in the government, it seems Parnis has been left with nobody to spar with. So while he can expect to be a backbench fixture inside Labour, Muscat’s shadow cabinet remains overcrowded with up to four MPs shadowing one single minister: keeping everybody under probation until the next election without having a guaranteed ministerial post.

Muscat is fielding a team of shadow ministers who can provide enough competition for government ministers in the run-up to a 2013 election. He is matching personalities, rhetorical power and intellect in an imaginary battlefield of television confrontations.

But in so doing he is also failing to address a chief worry of the electorate: whether a future Labour government is up to the task of actually administrating the country.

Labour’s 32-strong shadow cabinet will be shadowing eight government ministers and five parliamentary secretaries. The only MP without a title remains former leader Alfred Sant. Twenty MPs have been bestowed with the additional title of “main” spokesperson, retaining a hierarchy within the Labour bench. There are more main spokespersons than ‘normal’ spokespersons.

Key changes

The most significant changes to the shadow cabinet concern two veteran politicians moulded from old Labour times: Karmenu Vella and Marie Louise Coleiro.

Vella has not only been given the finance ministry portfolio, becoming Tonio Fenech’s main counterpart instead of Charles Mangion (who has still kept the pensions and financial services portfolio), but has been entrusted with the task of drafting the electoral manifesto.

Media-savvy, moderate and business friendly due to his private sector connections with major companies like Corinthia Group which has major interests in Libya, he also represents historical continuity with Mintoffian times. In this way he is one of the best representatives of Muscat’s strategy of paying lip service to the past without rocking the boat of big business. 

By shifting Marie Louise Coliero-Preca from tourism to health, Muscat has acknowledged that the tourism industry was not her rightful place. The populist tribune, known for her passionate defence of the downtrodden, increasingly looked like a fish out of the water in a business-driven sector. On the other hand, Muscat’s new choice of tourism spokesperson, the moderate Gavin Gulia, could be Labour’s nearest equivalent to the ‘aristocratic’ manners of Mario de Marco.

Surely it will be easier for those suffering from growing health inequalities to identify with Coleiro-Preca than it was for hoteliers to take in the populist MP. And not being part of the medical establishment could also be an advantage when speaking for the common citizen in her confrontation with health minister Joe Cassar, a psychiatrist who belongs to the establishment.

But she will have to show a greater proficiency in understanding the management side of things to appear as a credible alternative. So far this particular appointment seems dictated by the considerations of an Opposition leader and less than by those of a future Prime Minister.

On the other hand Michael Farrugia, a respected but soft-spoken medical doctor has been shifted from health to consumer affairs, an important topic on which the party has been remarkably absent in the past two years.

One of Muscat’s surprising appointments is that of Joe Sammut, who will be shadowing Austin Gatt’s reform of public transport in the next months, which sees public expectations rising as Arriva takes over from the motley crew of bus owners. Ironically, Joe Sammut’s best known contribution to the transport debate was proposing a special service for irregular immigrants using Bus Number 13, so he is hardly a champion of the democratisation of public transport.

Sammut has vacated the agriculture and fisheries portfolio to newcomer Anthony Agius Decelis, a nurse by profession. This could indicate agriculture’s low rank in Muscat’s hierarchy of priorities, despite pressing problems like over-fishing in the Mediterranean and impending reforms on land tenure to revitalise this sector.

On the other hand, the MP Noel Farrugia, who in the Sant era had personified agriculture, is now left on the superfluous ‘international development aid’ portfolio, which is expanded to include ‘Maltese communities abroad.’

Muscat’s gamble could be that spokespersons appointed in such nominal posts will not get much media exposure. On the other hand, Muscat’s best minds remain those inherited from the Sant era.

Outlines of a cabinet

In fact, a number of Labour stalwarts are retained in their post in what could signify their sure promotion to a Labour cabinet after 2013.

These include Leo Brincat, who has excelled in his unrelentless scrutiny of the government’s environmental policies and Evarist Bartolo who has had civil rights attached to his education portfolio. This could signify an institutional blessing to Bartolo’s participation in the Yes to divorce campaign. 

Muscat’s rival in the leadership contest, Michael Falzon, was also confirmed as spokesperson for security and immigration. And Marlene Pullicino, a supporter of his other rival George Abela, has also been confirmed as spokesperson for utilities. 

Vella – one of the main sponsors of Muscat’s leadership bid – has also retained the foreign policy portfolio. But in an indication of things to come, young Luciano Busuttil has also been confirmed as spokesperson for European Affairs. Another young gun confirmed in his post as spokesperson for culture and higher education  is Owen Bonnici, who stood out for his opposition to censorship.

But on the other side of the Labour fence the conservative Adrian Vassallo – who dedicates most of his time to asking questions on brothels and porn movies in hotels – has been confirmed in his ‘patient rights portfolio’ despite not showing much signs of activity on this topic during the past year.

Some of Muscat’s appointments could also raise conflict of interest-related problems. MEPA employee Roderick Galdes will be still be shadowing MEPA. While his technical knowledge and insider information could be valuable for the party, it blurs the distinction between ‘state’ and party.

Still, all in all Muscat has yet to address popular anxiety over the credentials of a future Labour cabinet. Ultimately he could be banking on new blood – even newcomers that are yet in parliament but have the blessing of the party machine. Much of this will depend on how to sponsor these new candidates without irking established ones.