From Labour’s campaign to top PBS job on Castille’s orders

Roberta Albanese Dalli went from fronting Labour’s election campaign broadcasts to a senior management job at PBS carrying a financial package exceeding €60,000, in an appointment sources say was ordered by Castille without a public call.

The former chief of staff to Minister Silvio Schembri is now among the state broadcaster’s top managers. PBS has refused to disclose her contract or explain how she was selected.

During her final weeks at the Economy Ministry, Albanese Dalli was away from her ministerial duties presenting a daily Labour campaign show ahead of the election, sources told The Shift.

She also fronted Labour’s fundraising telethon, appealing for donations to finance the party’s electoral campaign.

After the election, she was not reappointed as Schembri’s chief of staff. Instead, sources say, Castille secured her move into the taxpayer-funded broadcaster.

The transition puts a Labour campaign presenter inside PBS’s senior management, sharpening questions about political patronage and the station’s independence.

Sources at PBS said Albanese Dalli was seconded from the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA). They said the arrangement guarantees her a return to MDIA should she decide to leave the broadcaster.

Her contract remains under wraps. The Shift is informed that her financial package exceeds €60,000, but PBS declined to provide the document or answer questions about her recruitment without a public call.

The broadcaster’s refusal leaves the public unable to scrutinise her pay, duties or the selection process behind her appointment.

Albanese Dalli’s government roles have drawn scrutiny before.

In July 2022, The Shift reported claims that she had secured a senior HR job at the Lands Authority for her brother’s girlfriend, Yanika Abela, without a public call.

By December that year, she had also been appointed the authority’s board secretary while remaining Schembri’s chief of staff. Authority officials warned that the overlap gave the minister direct access to its internal business.

Her latest appointment adds to accusations that PBS is being turned into another Labour television station.

The Shift previously reported on Labour campaigning by TVM presenters Ricky Caruana and Luke Dalli, questioning whether the broadcaster was enforcing its impartiality rules.

In September, the PN filed constitutional proceedings alleging systemic political imbalance and failures over presenter impartiality. PBS rejected the allegations and said it would defend itself in court.

Now, a presenter who helped Labour campaign and raise money has joined the broadcaster’s management — while PBS keeps the terms of her appointment secret.