2024 in review: A former PM in the dock, two ministers resign, and PL loses ground
The year which is about to end will be remembered as one in which, for the first time in Malta's history, a former Prime Minister was charged with criminal offences.But an eventful 2024 also saw the resignation of two ministers, the swearing-in of a
The year which is about to end will be remembered as one in which, for the first time in Malta's history, a former Prime Minister was charged with criminal offences.
But an eventful 2024 also saw the resignation of two ministers, the swearing-in of a new President after a historic agreement reached in the House of Representatives, and the shutting down, and subsequent replacement, of Malta's national airline.
From a purely political perspective, the Labour Party won the elections for Malta's European Parliament representatives and local councils but saw its massive lead over the Nationalist Party substantially cut down in terms of voting preferences.
Roberta Metsola was re-appointed as European Parliament President for a second time while Malta now has a new European Commissioner, Glenn Micallef.
In what was surely the biggest news story of the year, the hospitals deal saga took centre stage as a magisterial inquiry into the criminal aspect of the scandal came to a conclusion, and criminal charges were issued against former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, three other former ministers and a host of others.
The deal itself had been annulled in 2023 in judgements by the courts which had mentioned fraud and collusion, and the magisterial inquiry that was investigating the criminal aspect of the case was concluded in April this year.
Criminal charges were later issued against Muscat, his former Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, former minister Konrad Mizzi, then Deputy Prime Minister and current member of parliament Chris Fearne and former minister Edward Scicluna. They all had their first court sitting in May and pleaded not guilty. The court cases are still ongoing.
On the day of Muscat's arraignment, hundreds of Labour supporters gathered outside the law courts building to show their support of the former Prime Minister.
In the lead up to the conclusion of the magisterial inquiry and right after, Prime Minister Robert Abela drew condemnation when he brought into question the timing of the inquiry's conclusion, being so close to the MEP and local council elections. The Prime Minister's statements were criticised by academics, the Opposition, students, employer bodies and NGOs. Employer bodies had said that "the attacks on the judiciary strike at the heart of Malta's democratic credentials and challenge basic principles of governance."
Fearne resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European Funds soon after it became known that he would be facing charges. He was also set to be Malta's eventual nominee to the European Commission, but he withdrew his nomination. He later also lost his place as Labour Party deputy leader.
Edward Scicluna resisted calls to resign as Central Bank Governor. Under pressure, at the end of July he decided to step aside, suspending himself pending the outcome of the court case.
Malta's nominee to the EU Commission instead of Fearne was later named as Glenn Micallef, who was approved along with the rest of the EU Commissioners-elect by the EU Parliament in November.
Micallef was appointed European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport. "His task is to give young people more freedom, say and responsibility within our societies, building on what brings us together in diversity, from our cultural heritage to sport at all levels," the EU Commission's website reads.
The public inquiry into the tragic death of Jean Paul Sofia was concluded in February. In December of 2022, a three-storey building in Kordin the 20-year-old had been working in collapsed as construction works were ongoing.
Despite countless calls for a public inquiry by Sofia's family, friends and others, in 2023 government MPs had voted down an Opposition motion for a public inquiry to be launched. Following more public pressure, in a classic u-turn days later, Prime Minister Rbert Abela changed his position, ordering a public inquiry.
That inquiry concluded in February. It found regulatory failures, such as issues regarding which authority had responsibility over free standing structures, and made many recommendations, including that such ambiguity should be removed and that such buildings should fall under the control of the BCA.
The inquiry also recommended that the obligation to present a method statement for vetting to the BCA should extend to all developments including those that are free standing, that when there is excavation a geological report must also be presented with the method statement, and that every person working in construction must have a skills card.
KM Malta Airlines began flight operations on Easter Sunday, after the closure of Air Malta the day before.
The new national airline's first flight departed from Malta International Airport to Catania, in Sicily,
Air Malta, which served as the national airline for 50 years, closed its doors after years of financial troubles.
Later in the year, in early October, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said that around one-third of Malta's national airline, KM Malta Airlines, is to eventually be privatised. Such a condition had been imposed by the European Commission as part of the deal that gave the government the go-ahead to launch a new airline and close Air Malta.
On 26 March, it was announced that the government and Opposition reached agreement over the appointment of the next President of Malta. For the first time, a two-thirds majority was required for the nominee to be accepted, and the two sides of the House on this occasion were on the same page.
The person selected was Myriam Spiteri Debono. On 4 April, she took the Oath of Office to become the country's 11th President, as George Vella's five-year Presidential term came to an end.
A notary by profession, Spiteri Debono served as Malta's first woman Speaker during the Alfred Sant administration between 1996 and 1998.
Elections
Another major news point during the year was the MEP and local council elections, which saw voters cast their ballots on 8 June. The Labour Party received the majority of votes in the two elections, however both the Labour Party and Nationalist Party celebrated the result, for different reasons. While the Labour Party won both elections in terms of having the majority of votes, the Nationalist Party significantly closed the gap when compared to the previous MEP and local council elections in 2019.
This year, the PL garnered 8,454 more votes than the PN in the MEP elections, whereas in 2019, the PL had received 42,656 votes more than the PN.
This led to a situation in which the two parties shared the six seats Malta has in the European Parliament. In the previous term, the PL had four while the PN had two.
In the local council elections, the PL received 20,255 more votes than the PN this year, less than half of the 47,116 advantage it had in 2019.
The PN managed to win back control in San Gwann, Siggiewi, St Paul's Bay and Mosta, which had all been with a PL majority since 2019, and also gained a majority in Msida for the first time since 2003. It also won a majority in Zebbug (Gozo), where in 2019 the seats had been distributed evenly between the PN and the PL (two each) with an independent, who this time contested with the PL, holding the final seat.
Elsewhere, the PN became the most voted for party in Mellieha and Birkirkara, which had been in PL control since 2002 and 2013 respectively, albeit without achieving a seat majority owing to independent candidates being elected.
Prior to the elections, the PN had won cases in court after people had their voting documents switched to a Siggiewi block of apartments which was still uninhabitable. The courts reversed the changed of addresses.
Metsola re-elected as EU Parliament President
In July, PN MEP Roberta Metsola, who had served as the President of the European Parliament prior to the election, was re-elected to the post for a second term.
She received an absolute majority of 562 votes cast out of 699 by secret paper ballot, among two candidates. She will lead the EP for the first two and a half years of the 10th legislative term.
Following her election, Metsola spoke of a Europe for everyone, wanting people to recapture that sense of belief and enthusiasm to make the shared space safer, fairer, stronger and better. She said that the EU must prepare for its enlargement, to extend Europe's hand to the Western Balkan countries who are not yet members, such as Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. "We must be ready to face this new world, we must not be afraid to face down autocrats, and live up to the promise, and stand for Europe, building a union which works for all of us," Metsola had said.
PL Deputy Leadership elections
2024 also saw the Labour Party hold internal elections for its two deputy leader positions, as well as other top posts. The party's internal election took place after the MEP and local council elections.
Originally, Jason Micallef, CEO of the Valletta Cultural Agency and former General Secretary of the Labour Party under Alfred Sant's leadership, had said that he would be contesting for the post of Deputy Leader for Party Affairs. However, a few days later he decided to withdraw following a meeting he had with Prime Minister Robert Abela.
There eventually was just one contender for each of the two deputy leader posts. Ian Borg was elected as PL Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs, also becoming Malta's new Deputy Prime Minister, and PL MEP Alex Agius Saliba was voted in as PL Deputy Leader for Party Affairs.
As for the post of PL President, there were two people vying for the position, Alex Sciberras and Norma Saliba. Sciberras won and was elected, with Saliba later being named as the party's head of communications.
Foreign affairs and a major conference
While Malta sat on the UN Security Council for its second and last year, it also took over as Chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). A major summit was held in Malta in December, the OSCE's Ministerial Council meeting.
The meeting in Malta saw particular focus on Russia's war in Ukraine, and was also the first time Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov entered the European Union since Russia began its invasion.
The meeting also saw countries finally reach agreement on a new leadership team for the organisation.
For the month of April, Malta also served for a second time as President of the UN Security Council.
Former PL MP Silvio Grixti and four others were charged in court over the benefits racket this year, and they pleaded not guilty.
In April, it was announced that a Presidential Pardon was being offered to those who received social benefits illegally as part of the racket, with certain conditions. Government had said the pardon will not apply to the alleged instigators or promoters of the scheme.
However, issues arose in court. A magistrate who is hearing some of the hundreds of cases relating to social benefits fraud, postponed them all until an official copy of the pardon document, signed by the President, could be exhibited.
A major tax cut
The budget for 2025 brought with it a big tax cut, as government modified the tax brackets in what appeared to be a move to increase Labour's waning popularity.
Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said that the untaxable income bracket for the single tax computation is to increase from the first €9,100 to the first €12,000 of a person's income. Announcing the widening of tax bands, but keeping earnings up to €60,000 being taxed at a maximum of 25%, Caruana said nearly 70% of taxpayers will benefit from a tax reduction of between €435 and €675 per year. People earning an annual salary of over €19,500 are set to enjoy the greatest tax reduction, he had said.
A consultancy job and a resignation
A report by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life found that two ministers breached ethics when the now wife of one of them had been granted a consultancy job for which she was not qualified.
Clayton Bartolo and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri were found by the Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi to have abused their power when Bartolo's then-girlfriend Amanda Muscat was given a job she had no qualifications for, and did not do. The ministers respectively were found to have failed to administer public funds diligently, Azzopardi said in the report.
Azzopardi found that Amanda Muscat, now Bartolo's wife, was first promoted from being Bartolo's personal assistant to his consultant with an increased salary to almost €62,000 and, later, this was upped to €68,000 when she moved to Camilleri's ministry in 2021. The report found that Muscat did not do consultancy work. By and large she continued to work as Bartolo's private secretary, with a consultant's salary, even when she was employed with Camilleri.
Pressure calling for the resignation of the two ministers mounted, and protests were organised by the Nationalist Party. Eventually, Bartolo resigned, with Prime Minister Robert Abela saying that it was in connection with another scandal. This other scandal revolved around allegations that Bartolo's wife, Amanda Muscat, received tens of thousands of euros from a private company as a possible kickback for a contract with the Malta Tourism Authority.
Bartolo was also kicked out of the PL Parliamentary Group.
The PN continued to call for the removal of Clint Camilleri from the post of minister, however Camilleri has remained on. The government has counter argued that some PN MPs neglected their public sector work.
Economy and workers
In 2024 the government seemed to finally realise that a shift in the economic structure was needed, as over-population issues continued to grow.
The Prime Minister highlighted that economic growth should not just be about expansion, but should also lead to an improved quality of life for people. Quality of life became a focus point in Abela's speeches.
The government this year also announced that it is working on a labour migration policy.
During 2024 the government also decided to stop accepting work-permit applications in the Y-plate and food courier sectors. A skills pass was also introduced as a requirement for third country tourism sector workers.
Identità scandal
A major scandal this year revolved around accusations of a corruption racket at Identità.
The racket allegedly saw the issuing of an estimated 18,000 Maltese ID cards to third country nationals on the basis of fake documentation and false declarations.
Allegations were made in Net News article and also in a 59-page sworn application requesting a magisterial inquiry, by lawyer Jason Azzopardi.
When the Net News report was published, Identità denied that it issued thousands of ID cards to foreign nationals in an illegal manner.
Weeks later, Jason Azzopardi filed a sworn application with the 18,000 allegation calling for a magisterial inquiry.
An inquiry was launched. The Identità Agency said that it, "as it has always done, will be fully and transparently cooperating in any investigation."
Education collective agreements and disputes
It was a dicey year for relations between the government and the Malta Union of Teachers.
After months and months of negotiations, as well as a one-day nationwide strike in government and church schools in 2023, in July of this year the government and the MUT signed a sectoral agreement for teachers, and the government said that it meant a substantial improvement in income and conditions of work for teachers employed by the State and Church schools. Government also signed an agreement with the Association of Independent Schools, to provide financial assistance to independent schools until 2029.
However, issues at MCAST heated up, as the union and government continue to be unable to find agreement over a new collective agreement, with the current one having expired around three years ago. Protests by the MUT as well as by students at the institution were held. The MUT has also registered a trade dispute at ITS over the collective agreement negotiations there.
The year also saw other major news items, such as the launch of a magisterial inquiry into an alleged LESA racket, and also a collective agreement signed with the whole public sector which will amount to €1.27 billion over a period of six years.
2024 also saw the death of Jake Vella, a boy who captured the heart of the nation with his courage and love of life. Former PN MP Karl Gouder also died this year, as did head of the European Commission representation to Malta Lorenzo Vella.
There were also a number of murders in 2024, about which a separate story is being published in today's edition of The Malta Independent on Sunday.
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