The government continues handing out non-resident ambassadorial posts to a few well-connected Labour cronies and their family members while keeping a few other experienced diplomats in the loop to counterbalance its partisan choices.
The latest two appointments concern those of disgraced former Minister Chris Cardona’s former wife and the 29-year-old son of Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera, the sister of former minister Jose’ Herrera.
The two new appointees, who have never worked anywhere near the diplomatic corps, have already been showered with other government positions and consultancies.
Maria Cardona – a former legal associate of former minister Manuel Mallia and the mother of Chris Cardona’s children – has been appointed to serve as non-resident ambassador to Latvia.
Since Labour was returned to power in 2013, the low-key lawyer has been given various government positions including one at the Malta Gaming Authority.
She is already filling a number of government positions including that of the Corradino Correctional Facility Monitoring Board chairperson and a governorship of the Lands Authority, among others. She is also regularly listed as a government consultancy beneficiary such as the one she holds at Transport Malta.
Alexander Scerri Herrera, meanwhile, is 29 years of age with a few years of work experience and has been appointed as Malta’s non-resident ambassador to Lithuania.
The young lawyer has been placed on government retainers since he graduated from university and currently sits on the board of the Building and Construction Agency and Engineering Resourced Ltd, among other appointments.
So far, the judge’s son has made a name for himself as one of the lawyers tasked by the government to draft the government’s cannabis use legislation.
He also worked for some time at the legal office of his uncle, former minister Jose’ Herrera.
Parliament’s Public Appointment Committee, composed of both Labour and Nationalist MPs, also unanimously approved the appointment of businessman Roberto Buontempo, who administers the Church’s properties, as non-resident Ambassador to Hungary and experienced diplomat Joseph Licari to serve as Malta’s Ambassador to Indonesia.
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#Chris Cardona
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#Manuel Mallia
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Waqt li l hajja tghola u l Gahan kuntent bic cheque ta’ ftit ewro li jinghata lura mit taxxa li jkun hallas, biex forsi jlahhaq persuni LABORISTI jinghataw l eluf.
I continue to appreciate and admire the doggedness of The Shift Team — one and all — and marvel at how you manage to overcome your inevitable bouts with nausea to still cogently report the facts, and nothing but (I’da called it a day long ago; so not fawning, simply bestowing credit where credit is due). Kudos all around for your perseverance in the face of the sadly well-documented and pervasive general obtuseness of the Maltese electorate (with the notable exception of your readership, of course)..
the Maltese Government is showing everyone how corrupt and amateurish we are beyond our shores!!
L-Univeirsita tal Brigata Laburista tiprovdi iz-Zombi Brigade ghal as Sevizz InCivili tal Gvern Assassin ta Malta.
Tal-misthija dawn in-nies.
Will these express themselves with the same language of the Minister of Tourism , when meeting a non friendly ambassador ? By the way . What will the Speaker do faced with hate speech adorned by foul speech , Debono Grech style against a female MP? I can imagine the same level of language dished around to their lady friends during the famous long weekend in a hotel , that the tax payer , that is us , paid for.
What a joke!
The problem with the PN is that knowing that sooner or later, when in the same position of power, they will do exactly the same. That is the main reason why, instead of making a fuss about these obscene appointments, they pretend not to know anything about them. Not much hope anywhere.