Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545412
10 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 17 JUNE 2026 OPINION A big Cabinet is costly, but the real waste is the unused MPs PRIME Minister Robert Abela's new Cabinet has reignited a fa- miliar debate about the number of ministers and parliamentary secretaries Malta should have. In my view, we are debating the wrong issue. Instead of asking whether Malta's Cabinet is too large, we should be asking why are gov- ernment MPs still sitting on the back benches. Political parties do not con- test elections simply to occu- py seats in parliament. They contest elections to govern. They present an electoral pro- gramme, ask the electorate for a mandate and, if successful, are entrusted with implement- ing the promises they made. If that is the purpose of gov- ernment, then every MP elect- ed on the government's ticket should have a meaningful role in delivering that programme. Yet under our current system, a number of government MPs spend five years on the back benches. They were elected by thousands of voters. They campaigned, attended count- less meetings, knocked on doors, listened to concerns and earned the trust of their con- stituents. Once elected, how- ever, they are effectively re- duced to spectators while their ministerial and parliamentary secretary colleagues carry the responsibility of governing. That makes little sense. An MP elected to government should not spend five years watching government happen from the side lines, propping it up with their votes when called upon to do so. Every government MP repre- sents a section of the electorate. Every government MP brings different experiences, expertise and perspectives. Most impor- tantly, every government MP was elected to contribute. Why should some voters have their elected representative directly involved in the administration of government while others do not? My proposal is simple—all government MPs should form part of the administration. In a government made up of approximately 39 MPs, a possi- ble structure would consist of 13 ministers and 26 parliamen- tary secretaries, with each min- ister supported by two parlia- mentary secretaries. Ministers would be chosen from among the party's most experienced MPs and proven perform- ers. Parliamentary secretaries would be assigned responsibil- ity within their ministry while gaining valuable experience and exposure to government. To encourage collabora- tion, parliamentary secretaries should ideally support minis- ters elected from different dis- tricts. The Cabinet itself would consist only of ministers, en- suring clear lines of respon- sibility and decision-making, while parliamentary secretaries would focus on implementa- tion, stakeholder engagement and project delivery. This is not a radical concept. It is how successful organisa- tions operate every day. No successful company leaves half of its talent idling at a bench. Businesses identi- fy promising individuals, give them responsibility, expose them to leadership and prepare them for future roles. Politics should do the same. Parliamen- tary secretary positions should be viewed as a training ground for future ministers and future prime ministers. Some will argue that govern- ment backbenchers are need- ed to scrutinise the executive. That may be true in theory. In practice, government back- benchers rarely function as a check on the administration of which they form part. The re- sponsibility of scrutinising the government belongs to the op- position, and rightly so. Others will point to the cost. Yet when compared to Malta's national budget, the cost of additional parliamentary sec- retaries is relatively insignifi- cant. Better implementation of policy, faster decision-making and greater accountability can easily outweigh the additional expenditure. Being penny wise and pound foolish is rarely good public policy. Interestingly, Malta's political evolution already points in this direction. The last National- ist administration under Law- rence Gonzi involved approx- imately 40% of government MPs in executive roles. Subse- quent Labour administrations increased that percentage to over 60%. Whether by design or instinct, successive Labour governments have increasingly recognised the value of involv- ing a larger share of elected MPs in the administration of government. I would go one step further. The Nationalist Party should seriously consider adopting this model when structuring its shadow Cabinet. Instead of appointing only shadow min- isters, it should create shad- ow parliamentary secretaries and organise itself in the same clusters that it would eventual- ly use in government. A shad- ow minister supported by two shadow parliamentary secre- taries would allow MPs to de- velop expertise, work together as teams and prepare them- selves for government long be- fore an election is won. A larger Cabinet may cost more money. But the great- er cost is leaving elected rep- resentatives on the side lines when they could be helping to deliver the programme voters elected them to implement. The real waste is not a parlia- mentary secretary's salary. The real waste is an unused Joe Aquilina An entrepreneur and local councillor in Swieqi, Aquilina was a Nationalist Party candidate on the 9 and 10 districts A larger Cabinet may cost more money. But the greater cost is leaving elected representatives on the side lines when they could be helping to deliver the programme voters elected them to implement The first meeting of Robert Abela's cabinet