Labour activist on Infrastructure Malta board appointed to CEO’s office in lead-up to elections

Karen Schembri, Labour Party activist and, until recently, a politically appointed member of the Infrastructure Malta board of directors, has resigned to be given a full-time position as a liaison officer in CEO Steve Ellul’s office.

Sources at Infrastructure Malta informed The Shift that Schembri’s new position is part of a series of irregular manoeuvres within the agency aimed at enhancing the electoral prospects of Transport Minister Chris Bonett.

Schembri, from Paola, was a low-key canvasser for Chris Fearne until the former health minister resigned last year following his arraignment in Court on criminal charges related to the hospitals scandal.

For years, Schembri worked in Fearne’s secretariat, although her contract was officially with the Foundation for Medical Services (FMS).

After Fearne left the Cabinet, she aligned herself with Minister Bonett, who contests the same district as Fearne, and was appointed to the Infrastructure Malta board.

There was no public announcement regarding her appointment with Ellul, and it remains unclear what her new job title entails and why Ellul, a previously unsuccessful Labour MEP candidate, needs such a position in his office.

According to sources within Infrastructure Malta, this move was part of Ellul’s efforts to support the Transport Minister in reclaiming his parliamentary seat in the upcoming elections.

The Shift has reported increased competition in the fourth electoral district, as Fearne has informed his canvassers that he intends to contest the next elections and expects a ministerial position if Labour is re-elected, particularly eyeing a return to the Health Ministry.

This development has caught his district rivals – Ministers Jonathan Attard, Byron Camilleri, and Bonett – off guard, as they had assumed Fearne’s political career was over.

Labour sources have indicated to The Shift that, according to the latest district polls, Fearne remains the most popular candidate among Labour voters, putting the re-election of one of his rival ministers at risk.

Currently, polls indicate that Attard is the second most popular candidate after Fearne, followed by Camilleri and Bonett. 

As the competition intensifies in the district, nepotism is rampant, with ministers striving to secure the support of potential voters.