Muscat tells Merkel, ‘I had better relationship with Gonzi’

Joseph Muscat speaks of 'good relationship' he enjoyed with Lawrence Gonzi

If it wasn’t clear enough already, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had no qualms about admitting that his relationship with Opposition leader Simon Busuttil was not as good as the one he shared with former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi.

Standing in Angela Merkel’s office at the German Chancellery in between meetings sharing a light conversation, Merkel asked Muscat whether he used to enjoy a good relationship with former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi.

Merkel and Gonzi – both hailing from the family of EPP parties – last met officially in 2013 when the former Nationalist prime minister travelled to Berlin.

“And did you have a good relationship?” an inquisitive Merkel asked Muscat.

“With Lawrence? Yes very good,” Muscat replied.

Laughing he added, “Actually the joke […] is that I had a better relationship with him than his successor.”

Merkel, who has been the leader of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000 and the Chancellor of Germany since 2005, reciprocated the joke with a piece of advice: “Well the experience with those who want to be something, are always at war […]”