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‘Be a good boy and let daddy fix the economy’, Joseph Muscat tells Robert Abela

Former primer minister Joseph Muscat has told current prime minister Robert Abela to be a good boy and let daddy fix the economy.

Muscat is part of a small team put together by the Prime Minister to come up with a post-Covid-19 recovery plan.

“Abela invited Muscat to Castille the other night to start brainstorming some ideas. After meeting outside, they, together with [former communications chief and current Malta Enterprise chairman] Kurt Farrugia went up to the Prime Minister’s office. Abela let Muscat enter first out of politeness, but then Muscat went and sat behind the big desk,” a source familiar with the negotiations told Bis-Serjetà.

“Abela didn’t say anything at first, presumably because he thought Muscat had sat there due to force of habit and would realise his mistake. Then after a couple of minutes of just standing there, he opened his mouth to speak, but Muscat said: “Bobby, could you make yourself useful and get me and Kurt [Farrugia] a coffee?”

According to the source, the Prime Minister duly obliged.

“When he came back in with the coffees, Muscat said: “Thank you. Now be a good boy and let daddy fix the economy.”

“When Abela said that actually, he had a couple of ideas he’d like to propose regarding the tourism sector, Muscat told him that was very cute but he’d be better off going to play with his toy boats. So eventually Abela shuffled out of the room.”

The source added that, while Abela was still within earshot, Muscat reminded him that he didn’t want to be disturbed by any new inquiries or investigations related to the Panama Papers, the Electrogas deal or the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

“Abela dejectedly replied, ‘Yes daddy’, before going to play with his boats in the Castille courtyard fountain.”