Joseph Muscat
His administration led to large-scale changes to welfare and civil liberties, including the legalisation of same-sex marriage in July 2017[10] and the leagalisation of medical cannabis in March 2018.
[25] In 2007, he attained a Doctorate of Philosophy in Management Research from the University of Bristol[24] with a thesis on Fordism, multinationals and SMEs in Malta,[25][26] written during Muscat's term as MEP.
[23] Upon graduation, in 1997 Muscat was employed as investment adviser[30] by the Malta External Trade Corporation (METCO) and soon after joined as market intelligence manager the newly established Institute for the Promotion of Small Enterprise (IPSE) under the Malta Development Corporation (MDC) headed by Mario Vella; as he himself noted in his PhD thesis, in this post Muscat was effectively considered a political appointee and a person of trust of the ruling party.
This situation made it harder for him to retain the confidence of the management after the return in power of the Nationalist Party in 1998 and the departure of Mario Vella from the MDC.
[6] As an MEP he supported a reduction in the tax for satellite television,[33] the right for customers to watch sport events for free,[34] and a number of issues related to environmental protection in Malta.
[37] In order to take up the post of Leader of the Opposition, Muscat was co-opted in the Maltese Parliament on 1 October 2008 to fill the seat vacated by Joseph Cuschieri for the purpose.
[47] Towards the end of 2010, it was revealed that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his Cabinet members had been receiving an increase of almost €600 a week in their salary since May 2008,[48] when at the same time the government had imposed the highest ever water and utility bills in the country's history.
In July 2010 Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando presented a Private Member's Bill in Parliament to introduce divorce in Malta.
[62] The day after Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi held a 45-minute meeting with President George Abela and advised him to dissolve Parliament on the 7th January 2013.
[71] After his first months in office, Muscat claimed that he had presided over Malta's economic turnaround, and amongst others was instrumental for the reduction in energy tariffs,[72] which was Labour's main commitment in its 2013 electoral manifesto, improvements in the health and energy sector, the elimination of out-of-stock medicines,[73] the introduction of free-childcare centres,[74] higher social benefits to parents and the youth employment guarantee[75] and the introduction and strengthening of civil liberties.
From money deposited in the NDSF, investment projects of around €90 million were announced in the fields of health, social housing, community centres catering for specific needs of vulnerable groups and sports, among others while assisting various NGOs.
[84][85][86] The Malta Individual Investor Programme also played a crucial role in helping to fund COVID-19 relief measures in 2020 and 2021, such as the wage supplements scheme.
[87] Malta became an attractive location for foreign direct investment in financial services, online gaming, information technology, maritime and aviation hubs and high value-added manufacturing clusters.
[98] Among others, the Muscat administration's family friendly measures led to a 9% increase in female participation in the labour market,[99] substantial savings to first-time home buyers,[100] the value-added tax car registration refund,[101] in-work benefits to low-income couples and single parents,[102] stipends given to over 5,000 students who repeated a year[103] and the introduction of civil unions.
[131] Waiting time for operations decreased,[132] medicines provided for free by hospitals and pharmacies increased considerably,[133][134] new wards were built at Mater Dei Hospital,[135] massive investment in new medical equipment was done,[136][137] new community health centers and facilities were inaugurated,[138][139] a €40 million project for a new "health hub" in Paola, which would act as a regional medical centre, was initiated[140] and government began covering the travel expenses for both parents, instead of one, when children are sent abroad for treatment.
The Valletta Summit began in Malta on 11th November and brought together the Heads of Governments of the European Union and of a substantial number of African countries who discussed how to strengthen cooperation in the field of migration.
[145] The valuable work done by the Maltese government was recognized by the British Prime Minister Theresa May at the Commonwealth leaders meeting held in London in 2018.
[162] The Labour campaign highlighted the fulfilled pledges, dealing with tax reductions, social benefits and childcare, as well as higher student stipends.
[163][164][165][166] Under the slogan The best time for our country (L-aqwa zmien ghal pajjizna), the Labour Party, with Muscat at its helm, won the 2017 General Election.
On the 3rd February 2017, Joseph Muscat hosted in Valletta an informal summit for all 28 EU heads of State or government which discussed irregular migration from Libya and the preparations for the 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaties.
Politico also heaped praise on Malta's negotiating skills in pushing through legislation in dozens of policy areas and awarded the country full marks for its achievements and the handling of the EU's Brexit response.
[186] On 5 December 2017, only fifty days after the car bomb,three men - brothers, George and Alfred Degiorgio, and Vincent Muscat - were charged with the murder of Caruana Galizia.
Government employees were tasked with clearing a makeshift memorial to Caruana Galizia at the Great Siege Monument in Valletta on a regular basis.
[190] Muscat faced accusations of failing to take action against two close aides: Keith Schembri, his chief of staff, and Konrad Mizzi, tourism and formerly energy minister, whose business and underworld links had been subject to judiciary and administrative investigations.
[193] While he had been a frontrunner to succeed Tusk back in 2017, in 2019 his image was tainted by the Caruana Galizia murder and the multiple reports of European institutions warning about the erosion of the rule of law in Malta.
[206] In December 2024 questions were raised over the lack of independence of the editorial policy of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project due to extensive funding and influence from the United States government.
[214] In September 2020, financial crime blogger Kenneth Rijock,a disbarred attorney who, in 1990, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy of fraud and one count of racketeering at a federal court in Florida, for which he received a 24-month prison sentence,[215] alleged that Muscat aimed to move to Dubai and take up a post as CEO of a Maltese-owned Dubai catering company which had just been awarded a lucrative public tender in Malta.
[228] As confirmed under oath by Dr Robert Aquilina, after legal advice, Repubblika did not write to Magistrate Gabriella Vella who was leading the Magisterial inquiry into the hospitals’ privatization deal.
[235] The day before the search at Dr Muscat’s residence and office, Repubblika’s lawyer, Jason Azzopardi, published a post on Facebook where he seemed to indicate what was going to take place.
[240] He also reminded that the Constitutional Court had accepted a request that had been made for the removal of Deputy Commissioner Silvio Valletta from the investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia because his wife was a Minister in the government led by him.
