Disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat says he had told disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat that he should have fired Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.
Muscat – who served as Prime Minister under Muscat, is the latest in a series of cabinet members who insist they advised Muscat that holding onto Schembri and Mizzi in the wake of the Panama Papers revelations made by murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia back in 2016 would be a mistake.
Speaking on current affairs show L-Erbgħa Fost Il-Ġimgħa, Muscat, who resigned from parliament this week, told host Mark Lawrence Zammit he was not part of the so-called ‘kitchen cabinet’ – a term used by Finance Minister Edward Scicluna to describe an exclusive group of mostly unelected officials and consultants, who made decisions above the heads of actual cabinet members.
“I told Muscat that Keith Schembri had too much power and that this wasn’t good for the country,” Muscat said, adding that he barely ever spoke to Muscat’s chief of staff, or Mizzi, who facilitated major projects like the Electrogas and Vitals Global Healthcare deals during his time as a minister.
Muscat also lamented that no arrests had taken place as soon as Schembri and Mizzi were revealed to have secret offshore companies.
The former Prime Minister also insisted he no relationship whatsoever with Yorgan Fenech, who is accused of masterminding Caruana Galizia’s assassination.
“If Joseph Muscat was involved in any sort of corruption – and I’d like to stress that I don’t think he was – I certainly didn’t know about it, much less partake in it,” Muscat said.
