Franco Debono has praised Prime Minister Robert Abela’s decision to distribute Clayton Bartolo’s portfolio among other ministries rather than promote a new PL MP to his Cabinet.

“The Prime Minister has done something right from something wrong, he shrunk the Cabinet,” Debono said.

The former PN MP has long warned that Malta’s Cabinet is too large for the country’s size. Earlier this year, he told Lovin Malta that the ideal Cabinet size should be somewhere between Lawrence Gonzi’s final Cabinet of 15 ministers and parliamentary secretaries and Abela’s of 27.

And Debono advised Abela to shrink his Cabinet even further.

“If he reshuffles his Cabinet in the near future, he would do well to remove two more people and shrink it to a more reasonable size.”

While Ian Borg has been named Tourism Minister, over and above his role as Foreign Affairs Minister, other parts of Bartolo’s portfolio have been distributed to other ministries.

Public cleanliness has moved to Miriam Dalli’s Ministry for the Environment and Energy, while the Film Commission has moved to Owen Bonnici’s Ministry for National Heritage, Arts, and Local Government.

Should Cabinet shrink further?