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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 APRIL 2014 News 4 JAMES DEBONO KONRAD Mizzi's eleva- tion to the role of super minister responsible for both energy and health, along with the exit of party stalwart Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, has strengthened the technocratic element in Joseph Muscat's cabinet while expos- ing the limited pool of talent on which the PM has to rely. But it may well be Owen Bonnici, who finds himself elevated to min- ister at the tender age of 33, who holds the keys to Labour's political future. Godfrey Farrugia's resignation from the Cabinet and his refusal to serve as Muscat's new social policy minister has forced Muscat to an- ticipate a long-awaited reshuff le by a few days. For a brief and rare mo- ment Muscat seemed to have lost control of events and was forced to react to an unforeseen circum- stance. But true to his character, Muscat acted assertively to prevent Godfrey Farrugia's resignation from taking the centre-stage of media re- ports. But Muscat may well have lost the veneer of anonymity, which has characterised his government in its first year. For while the reshuff le confirmed his political shrewdness, the demotion of a former minister, whose performance was still judged positively by 43% of voters, does not augur well for a Prime Minis- ter who prides himself on leading a united team. The fact that Farrugia effectively condemned himself to the back- bench by turning down the PM's offer of an alternative post, stands out as the first major sign of politi- cal insubordination. But the most radical changes seem to be part of a long-term design, which sees the creation of a super ministry twinning energy and health, the surprise choice of Karmenu Vella as the next EU commissioner and the political rise of the popu- lar Owen Bonnici. While Mizzi remains a technocrat at heart, it is Bonnici who comes across as a politician with leadership poten- tial. Michael Farrugia's ap- pointment as Social Policy Minister shows that Muscat may well have anticipated Godfrey Farrugia's refusal to move from health to social policy. The fact that Mus- cat seems to have had a backup p l a n u nder- s core s t h e P r i me M i n - i s t e r ' s g u i l e and abil- ity to re- bound from difficult situ- ations. S i g n i f i c a n t l y , Muscat managed to keep his choices under wraps while actively promoting the kind of me- dia speculation and interest that kept cabinet ministers on their toes for the past months. Ultimately Muscat also man- aged to surprise everyone with his dramatic choices. For while Farrugia's im- minent removal from health was widely an- ticipated and revealed by MaltaToday weeks ago, nobody expected that Konrad Mizzi would see the health ministry added to his already expansive portfolio. What was widely ex- pected and acclaimed was the elevation of the young and driven Owen Bonnici to the post of Min- ister of Justice and Culture, a post that may be seen as an anoint- ment for a future leader- ship role. The odd couple: Energy and health Konrad Mizzi has so far stood out in the Cabinet as a highly efficient technocrat who has kept to Labour's rigid electoral timeframes to commence the promised utility bill reductions as from this week. His task has been made easier by the promise of cheaper bills, which made it easier for Mizzi to steamroll ahead with plans in the face of opposition to the location of a f loat- ing storage unit in Mar- saxlokk harbour. It also explains the lack of controversy on the partial privati- sation of energy supply through the 18-year gas supply agreement with Electro`gas and the selling of 35% of Enemalta to Shangai Power Electric, which includes the privatisation of the existing Delimara plant. MaltaToday surveys, which rank Mizzi as the second most popular Minister after Coleiro Preca, show that voters ap- preciate Mizzi's efficiency. His popularity has not even been dented by the c o n t r o v e r s i a l a p p o i n t m e n t of hid wife as a Malta Enterprise envoy. But Mizzi's appoint- ment shows that despite presiding over the largest post- Independence Cabinet, Muscat still relies on a very limited pool of tal- ent to address the country's great- est challenges. By putting Mizzi in charge of the health portfolio, Muscat is expecting Mizzi to de- liver in a completely different sector where expectations are also high but where he risks being bogged down by entrenched interests, un- ions and private health providers. Mizzi as Mr Fix it According to Mizzi, the energy and health portfolios are diverse but face the same challenges – mainly that of a prehistoric system of management. Mizzi explained that his role in the health ministry would be that of creat- ing a manage- ment system: his ideologi- cal frame of mind, which r e d u c e s health to a m a n a g e r i a l problem, may well be sympto- matic of Muscat's belief that markets can be relied upon to improve living standards. One risk is that by focusing exclu- sively on managerial shortcomings, Mizzi would fail to address other problems like health inequalities as the well-off rely on the private sec- tor for a more efficient service. It also remains to be seen whether Mizzi will try to transpose his reliance on the private sector in the energy sec- tor to the health system. It may be of little comfort that the winning consortium for the power sta- tion also includes leading medicine importer Paul Apap Bologna, who is a share- holder in GEM Holdings, part of the ElectroGas consortium. The Occupational Health and Safety Authority, which has a regu- latory role over the safety of the new power infrastructure, also falls un- der the health ministry. And the extent of private sec- tor involvement in the provision From left to right: Konrad Mizzi, Owen Bonnici and Godfrey Farrugia. Below: Michael Farrugia and Edward Zammit Lewis ,PSRUWDQWVDIHW\LQIRUPDWLRQUHJDUGLQJ0HGHOD·V%:HOO6WHULOLVHU This is an important customer information with regard to all Medela B-Well Sterilisers in Malta, namely article numbers 008.0100 to 008.0104, 008.0121, 008.0287. The U\TILY`V\ÄUKVU[OLWYVK\J[PZVY Due to moisture potentially gathering at the connection of the power cable and the Steriliser unit in individual cases, B-Well Sterilisers can carry a potential risk of burn, ÄYLVYL_WVZ\YL[VZPNUPÄJHU[LSLJ[YPJJ\YYLU[+LZWP[L[OLMHJ[[OH[UVZPNUPÄJHU[ health complaints associated with such incident have been reported, the risk of very ZL]LYLOLHS[OJVTWSHPU[ZJHUH[[OPZWVPU[UV[ILL_JS\KLK Medela takes the safety of its products very seriously. Therefore, Medela has initiated H^VYSK^PKL]VS\U[HY`ÄLSKTLHZ\YL^P[OYLNHYK[VHSS)>LSS:[LYPSPZLYZ*\Z[VTLYZ are asked to permanently refrain from using the B-Well Steriliser. You are also asked to disconnect the power cable from the electric system. As an additional measure, Medela is requesting all end customers to either return the B-Well-Steriliser to the point where they purchased it. ,\YVWOHYTH3[K[OLL_JS\ZP]LKPZ[YPI\[VYZVM4LKLSHPU4HS[HOH]LHSYLHK`Z[HY[LK [OPZ]VS\U[HY`ÄLSKTLHZ\YLHUKOH]L[YPLK[VNL[PUJVU[HJ[^P[OHSSJ\Z[VTLYZYLNPZ- tered on their database who have purchased this item directly from them. Europharma Ltd has also informed all pharmacies and other retailers who resell B-Well Steriliser on the Maltese market about this issue in order to contact all known customers who have purchased this product and advised them to return it accordingly. The advert shall also support these efforts of Europharma. In this regard, any custom- ers who are still in possession of a B-Well Steriliser are asked to stop using it and re- turning it either to original point of purchase, or directly to Europharma Ltd on address printed below. Medela is prepared to provide a voluntary payment to customers for any physical return of the product. For further details on this and in case of any other questions whatsoever, please contact b-well@medela.ch or check www.medela.com/b-well Address of the Medela distributor in Malta ,\YVWOHYTH3[K*H[HS\U`H)\PSKPUNZ7ZHPSH:[YLL[)º2HYH)29 ;LS -H_ 4HPSPUMV'L\YVWOHYTHJVTT[ The rise of Konrad and Owen For a brief moment Joseph Muscat seemed to have lost control of events when his health minister resign: true to his character, he acted assertively to prevent Godfrey Farrugia's resignation from taking the centre-stage of media reports

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