Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/286290
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 MARCH 2014 5 News Muscat's new Cabinet With Marie Louise Coleiro Preca poised to become President next week and former tourism minister Karmenu Vella set to pack his bags and fly to Brussels to become Malta's European Commissioner in October, this is what the next Cabinet meeting line-up will be like. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat • Parliamentary Secretary (Planning) Michael Falzon PROMOTED Deputy Prime and Minister for European Affairs Louis Grech UNCHANGED • Parliamentary Secretary (EU Funds) Ian Borg UNCHANGED Home Affairs and National Security Minister Manuel Mallia UNCHANGED Minister for Justice and Culture Owen Bonnici PROMOTED • Parliamentary Secretary (Local Government) Stefan Buontempo NEW PORTFOLIO Social Policy Minister Michael Farrugia PROMOTED • Parliamentary Secretary (Disabled, elderly) Justyne Caruana PROMOTED Health and Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi NEW PORTFOLIO – PROMOTED • Parliamentary Secretary (Health) Chris Fearne PROMOTED Tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis PROMOTED Education and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo UNCHANGED • Parliamentary Secretary (Research, Innovation, Youth and Sports) Chris Agius PROMOTED Finance Minister Edward Scicluna UNCHANGED Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella UNCHANGED Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Rights Helena Dalli UNCHANGED Transport and infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi UNCHANGED Gozo Minister Anton Refalo UNCHANGED Economy, investment and small business Minister Chris Cardona UNCHANGED • Parliamentary Secretary (Economic Growth and Competitiveness) Jose Herrera NEW PORTFOLIO Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Change Minister Leo Brincat UNCHANGED • Parliamentary secretary (Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights) Roderick Galdes UNCHANGED Martin Balzan Medical Association of Malta We're prepared to work with anyone, whoever the minister is. As we have al- ways done, we are open to dialogue and we'll cooperate to ensure that the sec- tor's enormous problems are addressed. The health sector is afflicted with huge infrastructural problems and I can assure you that there are no easy solutions. This requires a long-term strategic ap- proach because the problems we face in the sector are complex and there's no quick fix to them. We need a strong commitment from government to tackle the problems we face. The sector needs decisive leader- ship. Paul Pace Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses I hope there will be better consultation and more meetings, and better dialogue, for the sake of both workers and patients alike. Unfortunately I cannot say it was a good relationship that the minister had with MUMN. The meetings were rare, and when we met the agenda had al- ready been set. His consultants were the doctors themselves, and he did not take ownership for many of the decisions that were taken: the changes inside the emergency department, at Mount Car- mel Hospital, the strategic business unit, at the Gozo General Hospital. It was an uphill battle. The new minister must show leader- ship and focus on the patient, but also treat all partners on an equal footing. He must grab the bull by the horns and address bed shortage and out-of-stock medicines. He must be strategic, not just rest on reports and committees, but take action. Farrugia resignation: what they said Barely two days into her appoint- ment, Marlene Farrugia stepped down from the role citing the "excessive attention" on her ap- pointment not to undermine the work of the health ministry. From then onwards, Marlene Farrugia made herself heard: criticising the "abusive" arrest of Norman Vella, the Mistra Heights permit, and even the Individual Investor Pro- gramme, insisting that the govern- ment rushed and should have first struck consensus with the Opposi- tion from its conception. Muscat may have dead-legged the Opposition by giving them lit- tle to talk about. But with Konrad Mizzi placed in charge of health, he is now bur- dened even more by the challenges of Enemalta's conversion to gas and the bed shortages in Mater Dei. Michael Falzon will be open to challenges from the Opposition over his handling of MEPA reform and the shape of decision-making inside the new environment, and planning authorities. The prime minister now has even more to prove with his Cabinet 2.0. NEW Michael Falzon Chris Fearne Justyne Caruana Chris Agius PROMOTED Owen Bonnici Michael Farrugia Edward Zammit Lewis OUT Godfrey Farrugia Franco Mercieca OUT but not DOWN Karmenu Vella EU Commissioner