How does Bernard Grech’s shadow cabinet compare to Abela’s team of Ministers?

Finance

Clyde Caruana vs Jerome Caruana Cilia

A question of gravitas

Seasoned economist and labour market expert Clyde Caruana will face Jerome Caruana Cilia, a new PN district heavyweight who was already pitted against Clyde Caruana in the run up to the election as PN finance spokesperson Mario De Marco was sidelined.

Although he has experience in financial services as a retail banking and wealth management risk manager, Caruana Cilia still lacks Caruana’s gravitas but has the potential to grow in the role.

The PN may be trying to pit a media savvy politician with a degree of experience in finances to score points against a ‘technocrat’ Minister constrained by the realities of government. But Caruana Cilia needs to boost his technocratic credentials in a role where the public expects competence and ‘a safe pair of hands’.

His appointment on its own does not fill the biggest hole in the PN’s frontbench i.e., the lack of economists on its parliamentary bench. Moreover, Clyde Caruana has also grown in the role, emerging as a better communicator than his aloof predecessor Edward Scicluna while managing to combine competence with an unassuming and refreshing frankness.

This makes for one of the most interesting ‘matches’ as the country faces one of its greatest challenges; its removal from the FATF greylist apart from the fall out of the Ukriane war.

Health

Chris Fearne vs Stephen Spiteri

Mutual respect

No change here as the popular Spiteri will continue shadowing Fearne, in a match characterized by consensus and mutual respect which was very evident during the COVID crisis during which Spiteri was largely supportive of the government’s vaccination programme.

On the PN’s part, Spiteri’s reappointment confirms Grech’s attempt to keep Delia loyalists on board.

Economy

Silvio Schembri vs Ivan J Bartolo

A businessman for the economy?

The PN is once again unable to field an economist to shadow the minister for the economy and instead Grech has opted for a businessman who has direct experience of economic realities but whose approach to economic problems may be conditioned by his role as an operator.

This may be problematic on issues where public and private interests do not converge but could help in bridging the PN with that part of the business community which is keen on good governance and a level playing field.  Grech has also twinned the economy portfolio with ‘the creation of new economic sectors’ with Bartolo’s appointment suggestive of a ‘Steve Jobs’ vision for the PN.

Yet, faced by Bartolo’s more methodic approach, Schembri will have to step up a notch especially when confronted by criticism that Labour has not attracted any major economic sector as was the pharmaceutical sector in the 1990s and gaming in the noughties.

Silvio Schembri is also shadowed by new PN MP Rebekah Cilia on lands. Introducing greater transparency and making the opaque Lands Authority more transparent could be one of the PN’s most important contributions to the legislature. As a bio-medical engineer Cilia has no particular affinity to the topic, but this could be an area where she can excel in scrutinizing the government.

Another new PN MP, Ivan Castillo, who was previously a minority leader in the Mellieha local council, will be shadowing Clyde Caruana on employment policy, the creation of jobs and industrial relations. This could be an important issue for the PN. While unemployment remains very low, low wages and precarious conditions remain widespread. Castillo will also be shadowing the maritime sector. On the other hand, Robert Cutajar will be addressing the plight of SMEs and the self-employed.

Energy and Enterprise

Miriam Dalli vs Mark Anthony Sammut

Sparks on Electrogas?

This makes for an interesting pairing as Mark Anthony Sammut, an engineer by profession, will be facing the seasoned former MEP who has grown in stature as a super minister with a reputation for competence. And while sparks are expected as the government negotiates a new gas supply agreement with the Electrogas consortium, especially in view of Mark Anthony Sammut’s association with the justice for Daphne campaign, the energy sector is also characterized by convergence on the need of a second interconnector and investment in offshore renewable energy sources.

One major area where the PN still has to formulate its policy is that on the use of ‘green’ hydrogen as a renewable source especially in view of EU funding for the hydrogen ready gas pipeline. Chinese investment in Enemalta could become an issue as fears grow of an alignment between Russia and China amidst tensions over Taiwan.

All in all, Sammut represents continuity to his predecessor, Ryan Callus, but may be more combative.

Environment

Miriam Dalli vs Janice Chetcuti

Battle for more green spaces

One curious aspect of Grech’s shadow cabinet is that like Robert Abela he has kept planning and environment separate.  This limits Janice Chetcuti’s role to shadowing the government’s popular commitment to create more urban green spaces for which government is allocating EUR 700 million in a clear indication that Abela wants to deliver on this front.

One risk for government is that in the absence of planning reforms and changes to local plans, this investment may come across as greenwash.

But Chetcuti – who as a local councilor in M’Xlokk led a campaign against the construction of the council’s offices in a school garden – will not be in a position to question land use policies except for insisting ERA be given a stronger role.

In the more controversial planning sector it will be new PN MP Stanley Zammit who will be shadowing Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi in what comes across as a clash between two unknowns.

Climate Change

Miriam Dalli vs Eve Borg Bonello

The next big issue?

While passion and activism are crucial in raising awareness on climate change, dealing with the challenge of de-carbonisation is a highly technical process and in intimately related to fiscal, industrial and economic policy.

As a young newbie full of enthusiasm, law student Eve Borg Bonello may be walking on a minefield and will need to team up with experts to turn her role in to meaningful one. One major issue for the PN is whether to press for more ambitious targets which may increase burdens on businesses.

By placing this sector in the hands of a political newbie, Grech is either showing great trust in the power of youth or is underestimating the importance of such a complicated issue.

Transport and Capital Projects

Aaron Farrugia vs Adrian Delia

Tram, metro or none?

In a sign that Grech wants unity, Adrian Delia has been given a highly visible portfolio in an area where the government’s position is characterised by uncertainty on whether to go for a metro or not.

Yet the PN will also have to decide whether to press on with its ‘trackless tram’ proposal which was characterised by major contradictions between different party spokespersons on whether roads will have to be widened or not.

Delia, a lawyer by profession, will depend on expert advice and backup to address one of the country’s biggest challenges.  Moreover he will have a worthy adversary in Aaron Farrugia who is expected to show greater sensitivity to environmental issues than his predecessor Ian Borg.

Infrastructure

Aaron Farrugia vs Ryan Callus

Unclear portfolios

While Aaron Farrugia is responsible for both infrastructure and capital projects, in the PN this portfolio has been split between Delia and Callus. It remains unclear who is responsible for what.  Moreover, mass transport solutions also require an infrastructural plan.

This could be a recipe for confusion if the two politicians take different approaches to the same problems. But Callus’ more technical input and scientific frame of mind may actually benefit Delia, if the two manage to work together.

Foreign Affairs

Ian Borg vs Beppe Fenech Adami

Kicked upstairs?

On paper, foreign affairs is one of the most prestigious ministries but it lacks in visible deliverables. In this sense both Abela’s decision to transfer Borg from roads to foreign affairs and Grech’s decision to transfer Fenech Adami from home affairs to foreign affairs may have been a polite way to get them out of the way without actually demoting them.

Still, unlike Mario De Marco, the other dynastic heir, Fenech Adami was still given a role by Grech. Moreover, with the war in the Ukraine taking centre-stage and the energetic Borg already showing signs that he wants to leave his mark in this sector, Fenech Adami may be in for a challenge.

Re-inventing Malta’s active neutrality in the new global scenario could well the next big issue, along with the fragile situation in Libya. It remains to be seen whether in view of greater instability, the PN will push for stronger ties with NATO. Fenech Adami’s more combative style may also signal a departure from the friendly exchanges between Evarist Bartolo and Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici.

Education

Clifton Grima vs Justin Schembri

A learning curve in education

To some extent both Grima and Schembri are unknown quantities who have yet to prove themselves in their respective roles. Grima was only appointed minister weeks before the general election following the forced resignation of Justyne Caruana, who on her part had found it hard to fill the shoes of predecessor Evarist Bartolo.

On his part Schembri has just been elected to parliament after a strong showing on the eighth district and after serving as minority leader on the Birkirkara local council. A teacher by profession, Schembri is expected to build bridges with a professional category which is suffering from reform fatigue and which over the years has become more disenchanted with both parties.

Yet the country still faces important challenges, including its relatively  high rate of early school leavers, which may require further shakeups which leave teachers disoriented.

Home Affairs

Byron Camilleri vs Joe Giglio

Law and Order

Joe Giglio, a legal mind and one of the rising stars and moderate faces in the PN, now finds himself shadowing the government on sensitive issues like the treatment of inmates and immigrants, two issues where Labour has positioned itself as the ‘law and order’ party and where the PN has been largely reactive, particularly in its criticism of former prison director Alex Dalli who was reluctantly removed by Camilleri.

It remains to be seen how Giglio will strike a balance between public apprehensions particularly on migration, and advocating a more humane approach.

Still, despite his reluctance to sack Dalli over serious concerns on prisoner rights, Camilleri is also reputed to have clamped down on bullies in prison and investing on their rehabilitation. It remains hard to reconcile Malta’s increasing cosmopolitanism with the daily bureaucratic difficulties faced by migrant communities.

Justice

Jonathan Attard vs Karol Aquilina

Grech’s token to the Daphne crowd?

Karol Aquilina’s appointment in the important justice portfolio suggests that the PN intends to keep on its pressure on government on pending inquiries related to Panamagate and the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

But in so doing, Aquilina will now be facing Attard who represents a new breed which is less connected to the Muscat era.

The arts and culture

Owen Bonnici vs Julie Zahra

The singer and the minister

Julie Zahra, a former Eurovision singer and educator who found the solidarity of the artistic community after a government minister took a dig at her past as a performer, could be in a strong position of building bridges between her party and the artistic community.

Owen Bonnici, himself a pioneer of important legal changes like the removal of draconian censorship, will have to step up his act especially in promoting a national cultural policy and in engaging in dialogue with a category which tends to be rebellious and iconoclastic.

Owen Bonnici will also face the scrutiny of two other PN newcomers in Darren Carabott who will shadow him on local government and Graham Bencini on public broadcasting.

Gozo

Clint Camilleri vs Alex Borg

The new district heavyweights

Gozo has seen a changing of the guard, with Clint Camilleri replacing Anton Refalo as the party’s strongest district candidate and Alex Borg replacing Chris Said in the opposition. Borg’s success in Gozo also came in the wake of his criticism of NGOs like Repubblika, which was associated with the anti-Delia faction in the PN.

Grech has recognized the wishes of the electorate and has crowned Borg’s success with the Gozo portfolio. Still while Borg – whose father served as Giovanna Debono’s chief of staff for 15 years – has emerged as a formidable force, he remains an unknown quality with regards to rampant overdevelopment in Gozo, limiting himself to saying that “we have to find a balance between development and the environment to keep those characteristics that make Gozo different”.

Hunting and Trapping

Clint Camilleri vs Charles Azzopardi

United in hobbies

Apart from scrutinising the government on inflation, Charles Azzopardi, a former Labour candidate and mayor of Rabat, will also be shadowing Clint Camilleri on hunting and trapping. In so doing he will have to thread a fine line between appeasing hunters and not offending a majority of PN voters who voted against spring hunting in the 2015 referendum.

Azzopardi’s appointment shows determination by Grech to reconnect with large swathes of rural Malta where the party has lost sway. His portfolio, which includes other hobbies, is reminiscent of the hunting lobby’s successful alliance with other hobbyists during the referendum campaign.

But any appeasement to this powerful lobby is bound to alienate green voters as well as a large section of Nationalist voters who resent the power of this lobby.

Equality

Rebecca Buttigieg vs Graziella Attard Previ

The feminist challenge

Although ‘equality’ falls under Byron Camilleri’s mega ministry, Abela has also appointed Rebecca Buttigieg – who previously served as Camilleri’s communications coordinator – as a junior minister focused on this issue. Former Sliema mayor Graziella Attard Previ will shadow her.

With women’s rights groups calling for stronger laws against femicide and pushing the boundaries on themes like abortion, the PN’s conservative approach will be severely tested in the coming years. This makes Attard Previ’s task harder but much also depends on how far Buttigieg will go.

It also remains to be seen whether this administration will recommence discussion on a discarded equality bill aimed at addressing discrimination in the provision of services in both the public and private sector.

Less controversial matches

Not much controversy is expected in the other matchups like social policy, where PN stalwart and deputy leader David Agius will be shadowing Michael Falzon, himself a former deputy leader of his own party.

On inclusion and disability, Graziella Galea will be shadowing Julia Farrugia Portelli. Housing Minister Roderick Galdes will once again by shadowed by Ivan Bartolo whose portfolio also includes poverty.

Toni Bezzina who has been transferred from transport to make way for Adrian Delia will shadow Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo.

Hotelier Robert Arrigo will once again be shadowing tourism minister Clayton Bartolo and new Minister Jo Etienne Abela will be shadowed by Paula Mifsud Bonnici.