Prime Minister Robert Abela spends most of his time on himself doing barely any governance at all. During the day, when he is not managing his undeclared and ill-gotten wealth, he is mainly busy conducting propaganda. In August he takes a month-long holiday apart from taking other holidays during the year cruising the Mediterranean with his boat. So, who actually governs the country from the Auberge de Castille? You would assume, that given that Robert Abela isn’t doing his job, he has a team of super-bureaucrats and incredible technocrats who run the country for him, yet if this was the case, the country may actually be doing well.
So, when the exasperated feeling settles in that everything around you is collapsing, remember that this country is led by criminals helped and abetted by their opportunistic dilettantes. Imagine the most important and powerful executive entity in the country being run by some of the most unemployable people, failed government bureaucrats, and full-time Labour Party activists.
For example, Robert Abela’s appointee to head the civil service is Tony Sultana: the MITA Chairman who earned a reputation for disasters apart from abusing his position to defend the corrupt interests of Joseph Muscat when he fired the MITA expert who provided services to the Magisterial Inquiry on Egrant (Joseph Muscat’s attempts at money laundering).
Then there is Robert Abela’s Chief of Staff, Glenn Micallef, whose Personal Assistant has been involved in a recent scandal. Glenn Micallef spent his time during Joseph Muscat’s administration as a government diplomat to the European Union. He has no other meaningful work experience apart from working in the EU, so becoming Chief of Staff to Robert Abela was his first ever proper job in Malta.
Robert Abela has two main consultants, but only one of them has actually any influence while the other one has grown into a depressed and lethargic state of resignation. Naturally, the former is his father, George Abela and the other is Louis Grech.
The chief propagandist of Robert Abela is Aleander Balzan: he spent his life doing propaganda for the Labour Party and has no other skill other than reproducing blatant and simple propaganda. He is as dumb as they come and an excellent useful idiot.
Then there are Robert Abela’s young servants, who campaigned for Robert Abela during his leadership campaign and all ended up being rewarded with government jobs or even lucrative public contracts. However, apart from these young dilettantes, Robert Abela has plenty of other little helpers. Like David Bartolo and Kristen Bartolo (may be related), John Mifsud, Noel Mifsud, Rosanna Piscopo, Joseph Scerri and Sharon Cassar who are Secretariat Officers (whatever that means).
Robert Abela’s appointee to head the government’s customer care (the corrupt system by which ministers can distribute favours in exchange for votes) is Owen Grech.
Robert Abela even has “coordinators”, like Joseph Cassar, Michelle Scerri, and Taryn Jade Darmanin.
He also has a Head of Events, Aaron Zahra.
Robert Abela has some policy consultants as well, who supposedly draft government policy. These are Sean Schembri, Darryl Farrugia and Melissa Vella Buhagiar.
Tyson Fenech is Deputy-Head of Secretariat
Other members of the Secretariat Pool: Luke Mifsud and Nicholas Mamo.
Then there is, of course, his Personal Secretary, Rachel Debono.
And also a Private Secretary: Alexia Gatt.
Robert Abela even has his own messenger: Lawrence Mifsud.
If you would include the OPM employees listed in this article, Robert Abela has at least 32 employees working for him at the Office of the Prime Minister. None of them are technocrats, Phds, successful bureaucrats, or entrepreneurs. For many of them, this is their first “proper” job.
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