Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1139344
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JULY 2019 NEWS JOSEPH Muscat's plan to land a top job in Brussels was thwarted last week and with it the ambitions of those wanting to take his job in Malta. A top EU job would have imposed a deadline on Muscat's premiership, forc- ing a race for leadership of the Labour Party in the last three months of the year. But all that will now have to wait. With no European deadline, Muscat can choose when to go, if at all. Leadership hopefuls Chris Fearne and Miriam Dalli were quick to tweet on the same evening that European lead- ers finally agreed on the top jobs, urg- ing Muscat to stay on for "many more years". People close to the Prime Minister have suggested that Muscat may very well stay on until the next general elec- tion. After leading another formidable elec- tion campaign in May, Muscat appeared to have loosened his grip on the reins of government. He now returns with more vigour, close aides suggest. A feeling of inertia With the Prime Minister caught up in the Brussels euphoria, the past month was characterised by the risk of inertia settling in, sources in government told MaltaToday. Certain decisions were being post- poned and potential contenders for the post, like Ian Borg and Konrad Mizzi, were quietly in full campaign mode, while Chris Fearne basked in his extend- ed role as acting prime minister. The situation was jolted when a third building partially collapsed last month as a result of ongoing construction work next door. The incident shocked the country. Muscat stepped in front and ordered an immediate halt to excavation and demolition work, as he pushed for a rap- id change in construction regulations. The Prime Minister took the lead but his actions were pretty much dictated by the inevitability of doing something in the face of a construction emergency. The strong action miffed architects, and construction workers were left in the lurch as building sites ground to a halt. All this happened when Borg was abroad. The minister was left to pick up the pieces as the new construction rules After missing out on a top EU job, Joseph Muscat's departure from politics has been postponed to an unknown date. Kurt Sansone tries to understand what happens next Inside Labour Thwarted plans and the road ahead KURT SANSONE Diddums... a vain hope for glory at the helm of the EU went nowhere for Joseph Muscat