Muscat attempts to officially ‘dump’ Keith Schembri – From ‘best man’ to liability

Disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat has publicly withdrawn the unconditional loyalty he once offered his right-hand man Keith Schembri, declaring that he would now “stick his neck out” only for his wife and children.

The bold remark came during a press conference on Yorgen Fenech’s acquittal by the disgraced former PM, ‘to put the record straight’.

Asked by journalists whether he would still stick his neck out for Schembri, Muscat replied: “I stick my neck out only for my children and my wife.”

This was Muscat’s clearest public attempt yet to distance himself from the man who served as his chief of staff, closest political aide and gatekeeper at Castille between 2013 and 2019.

Yet, Muscat stopped short of repudiating Schembri.

During the same press conference, he defended him against several allegations that emerged during Fenech’s trial.

Contrary to evidence in Court, Muscat said he had never been aware of Schembri leaking information obtained through police briefings on the murder investigation. He maintained that Schembri neither requested nor insisted on attending those meetings and denied that either of them knew when arrests or searches would take place.

The disgraced former Labour leader also denied telling Schembri that presidential-pardon recipient Melvin Theuma had mentioned him. According to Muscat, Schembri’s name did not feature in the intercepted telephone conversations involving Theuma that were brought to his attention.

Muscat did not, however, explain how sensitive information reached Fenech. During the trial, Fenech testified that Schembri had shown him a copy of Theuma’s proposed presidential pardon before it was officially signed and had warned him that his telephone was being tapped. This was also confirmed by the police.

Schembri featured prominently throughout the trial despite not being accused in those proceedings. Fenech’s lawyers repeatedly shifted attention towards the former chief of staff, arguing that investigators had failed to pursue evidence that could have implicated him as the real mastermind.

According to Joseph Muscat, the family of the victim agrees that Schembri was not the mastermind.

The relationship between Muscat and Schembri long preceded their years at Castille.

Schembri helped Muscat transform the Labour Party after he became leader in 2008 and was a central strategist behind Labour’s landslide electoral victory in 2013.

Upon appointing him chief of staff, Muscat described his lifelong friend as the “best man” to introduce a new culture of delivery in government.

When the Panama Papers exposed Schembri’s offshore structure in 2016, Muscat resisted demands to dismiss him. He insisted that Schembri enjoyed his trust and complained that his chief of staff had been unfairly “demonised”.

In 2017, Muscat described their friendship as “nothing to be ashamed of”. When Schembri resigned in November 2019, amid the political crisis triggered by Fenech’s arrest, Muscat thanked him and said he had played a “crucial role” in government.

Even after leaving office, Muscat remained publicly loyal.

In 2021, he declared that he would never “ditch” his old friend.

During Muscat’s administration, Schembri was mentioned in all the sleazy deals and projects involving the government, from the fraudulent hospitals heist to a wind farm in Montenegro.