Alex Borg agreed to government appointment of retired judge to monitor government advertising

The PN and Opposition leader Alex Borg did not object to the government’s appointment of retired judge Grazio Mercieca to monitor state advertising, the Nationalist Party has confirmed.

The confirmation follows The Shift’s revelation that Mercieca secured a €72,000 annual salary, a fully expensed official car with a driver and a €1,800 communications allowance, months after leaving the bench. He also kept his full-privilege pension, which amounts to a full two-thirds of a Judge’s current salary, uncapped.

Asked whether Borg had been consulted and agreed with the nomination, the PN confirmed consultation and said: “The Leader of the Opposition had no objection.”

Consultation is a legal requirement under the legislation establishing the Office for Advertising and the Media. Its head is appointed by the President on the prime minister’s advice, after consulting the Opposition leader.

Mercieca previously served as president of Labour’s Gozo section and chief adviser to former Gozo minister Anton Refalo. He became a magistrate in 2016 and a judge in 2018, retiring in November 2025.

His seven-year appointment began on 24 February 2026. The appointment letter, obtained by The Shift through a Freedom of Information request, also provides public-service reimbursements and exempts him from probation.

It does not disclose his judicial pension payments or whether these are affected by his new salary.

The Shift also asked whether the PN agreed that retired judges should retain their privileged judicial pension while receiving another government salary.

“The PN believes that pension and remuneration arrangements for public appointments should be governed by clear, transparent rules and applied consistently,” the party replied.

It did not directly state whether it supports simultaneous payments.

Mercieca joins retired judges Toni Abela, Joseph Azzopardi and Antonio Mizzi in receiving public appointments after leaving the judiciary. All have Labour Party connections.

His office is legally required to operate independently and monitor state advertising expenditure. Borg’s lack of objection to the nomination leaves the separate question of the PN’s position on pension and salary payments unanswered.