Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/430850
JURGEN BALZAN HOME Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia forced Joseph Muscat's hand yesterday after refusing to hand in a resignation letter, leaving the prime minister no option but to sack him. Muscat yesterday appointed gov- ernment Whip Carmelo Abela (page 5) as home affairs minister and hived off PBS and film produc- tion to Owen Bonnici's and Edward Zammit Lewis's ministries, respec- tively. While Opposition leader Simon Busuttil blasted the findings of the inquiry as "useless", he lambasted Muscat for his "weakness" in tak- ing a decision he was expected to take three weeks ago when Mallia's driver, Paul Sheehan, shot twice at a vehicle that had hit the ministerial car. But Muscat yesterday was still hoping to salvage his political rela- tionship with the ousted minister, a criminal defence lawyer and star candidate scouted personally by him. The prime minister said Mallia still had a role to play in govern- ment, insisting that "nobody should be discarded." Refuting claims that he gave Mal- lia an option to stay on, Muscat said "contrary to what the Opposition is claiming, I gave Mallia two options: he could either resign or I would have to sack him." Explaining that the first contact with Mallia on Monday was done through the PM's chief of staff Keith Schembri, Muscat said he gave the disgraced former minister an op- tion to go gracefully or otherwise face the sack. He described Mallia as a "friend", and that he respected Mallia "per- sonally and professionally" but that the minister had to "pay the ulti- mate price" for his involvement in the Sheehan shooting case. Although no political responsibil- ity was laid on Mallia by a three- man board of inquiry led by retired judge Alberto Magri, the minister kept denying that he had vetted an incorrect government statement that claimed that Sheehan had fired warning shots in the air. His chief of staff Silvio Scerri even denied see- ing the statement, and then changed his version of events to admit that he had added the words "in the air" to warning shots. Claiming that he was still on good terms with Mallia, the Prime Min- ister yesterday thanked him and said that although the minister was "hurt", the doors were open for him. "I'm sure he'll continue giving a valid contribution," Muscat said, adding that the same applied for Mallia's former chief of staff, Silvio Scerri. Insisting that the inquiry report did not apportion any blame to Scerri, Muscat said it was up to the new home affairs minister to pick his aides. Asked whether it would have been wiser to sack Mallia immediately af- ter the incident instead of allowing the saga to drag on for weeks, Mus- cat said "maybe I could have opted to suspend Mallia while the inquiry was being held". "Will we do things differently in the future? Yes, we can always learn and do things in a better way." Standing alongside new home af- fairs minister Carmelo Abela and new police chief Michael Cassar – a former assistant commissioner who was made head of the Malta Secu- rity Service in April 2013 – Muscat underlined the importance of "hu- mility", adding that restoring the people's trust in the police force was now a priority. WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION WEDNESDAY • 10 DECEMBER 2014 • ISSUE 394 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY €0.90 Newspaper post CONTINUES PAGE 5 Joseph Muscat says dismissed minister Manuel Mallia 'still has a role to play' Editorial - PAGE 8 MALLIA SACKED