Cabinet to be unveiled on Wednesday

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this evening that decisions had been taken today on the format of the Cabinet to bring it in line with the new government’s priorities and the fact that Malta had to prepare for and then assume the presidency of the EU.  Speaking on 'Close-up' on PBS, Dr Muscat said he would decide on the names of the ministers in the coming hours once the electoral results came in, and he expected to make his announcement on Wednesday morning. He said he had already spoken to some of the elected candidates asking them whether he could consider them to serve in the government in view of their professions. The new Cabinet, he said, would be slightly larger than the old one so that the ministers could focus more, and to ensure that some sectors were not lost in mega-ministries, as had happened. For example, the finance minister should be focused on the budget, with another minister for the economy. The EU presidency, he said, would fall within the responsibility of one of the ministers, and the opposition would be invited to participate in what should be a national event. There would be ministers and parliamentary secretaries, he said, and there could be persons in...