New PL CEO contradicts his own advice

Just days after publicly declaring that it was time for a new generation to take over and suggesting that his own time in senior positions had almost passed, Ivan Falzon has accepted one of the Labour Party’s most powerful appointments, becoming its new chief executive.

The appointment comes only days after Falzon used social media to argue that Labour should use its latest electoral victory to renew itself by promoting “the new, young guns” instead of relying on the same familiar faces.

“People get tired of seeing the face of Ivan popping up here, there, and everywhere like a jack-of-all-trades,” Falzon wrote in a lengthy post published after the general election.

He added that after 13 years occupying some of government’s most senior executive roles, “my reading of the clock right now” was that it was time for others to be given their opportunity.

“The government needs to be courageous right now. It’s time to back new blood, people who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo,” he wrote, insisting that Labour should renew itself while governing from “a position of strength, not from a position of weakness.”

Yet, only days after making that public appeal, The Shift can confirm that Falzon accepted the role of Labour Party CEO, one of the party’s most influential positions -at least on paper – responsible for running its administration, operations and electoral organisation.

In the same post, Falzon suggested he had been approached for several new opportunities following the election but had concluded that it was time to step aside.

“The phone rings, the approaches are made, and the options are put on the table,” he wrote before arguing that the next generation should now be allowed to shine.

Falzon’s latest move marks another chapter in a career that has seen him repeatedly move between some of the Labour administration’s most senior public appointments, invariably as a politically appointed person of trust.

In 2024, after a relatively short spell, he was removed as chief executive of Infrastructure Malta following disagreements with then Transport Minister Chris Bonett over the agency’s direction. Although the government described the separation as amicable, The Shift later revealed that Falzon walked away with an 18-month severance package worth around €142,000.

Only months later, despite receiving the substantial golden handshake, he was directly appointed by Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri as chief executive of the Gozo Regional Development Authority, a ministry satellite agency, on a package worth approximately €92,000 a year.

His latest move now may see him leave that role to take charge of the Labour Party’s executive operations.

Falzon first came into the public eye soon after Labour swept to power in 2013, when he was appointed chief of staff to then Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca, a longtime friend.

He was subsequently appointed chief executive of Mater Dei Hospital before moving on to head the Water Services Corporation. He later served as CEO of Infrastructure Malta before taking over the Gozo Regional Development Authority.

Despite the political controversy that has often surrounded his appointments and his latest contradiction, Falzon is widely regarded as an effective administrator and a moderate voice who is prepared to speak his mind.