Labour MP says Mintoff should be judged on performance

Newly appointed Judge Wenzu Mintoff should be judged on his performance, Labour MP Charles Mangion told Parliament this morning.

Defending Mintoff’s controversial appointment, the MP said that critical comments on the media were unfair and “observations should not be based on opinions but on performance,” adding that he was confident Mintoff would prove himself on the bench.

Yesterday, government announced it would be appointing the former Labour MP (1987-1989) and a founder of Alternattiva Demokratika, Wenzu Mintoff, as a judge. He will be sworn in today.

Mintoff, head of legal at Malta Enterprise, had until recently been acting as editor of Labour organ KullHadd.

Mintoff will join the judiciary in the Superior Courts, making him the sixth appointment to the bench by the Labour government after two judges and three magistrates.

His appointment was met with muted criticism by PN deputy leader for party affairs Beppe Fenech Adami: "For all the words on transparency, the government did not consult the Opposition, and this appointment comes straight from inside the world of politics - people like former Labour MP Philip Sciberras and former PN candidate Lorraine Schembri Orland had long distanced themselves from politics at the time of their appointments," Fenech Adami said.