Edward Scicluna to resign as minister and MP

Edward Scicluna will be resigning as finance minister and as an MP, a statement issued by the government yesterday read.

The government said that it wants Edward Scicluna to take over as Governor of the Central Bank of Malta and will propose to the European Central Bank that he be appointed.

“In order to be able to start this process, Scicluna will resign as Minister of Finance in the coming days and as a member of the Maltese Parliament by the end of the year,” the statement read.

Over the past months rumours have spread of Scicluna’s impending exit from politics, and that newly co-opted MP Clyde Caruana (an economist who is currently the Prime Minister’s Head of Secretariat) might replace him as Finance Minister, however the latter move is not yet confirmed.

The statement read that the current Central Bank Governor, Mario Vella, is to be appointed Special Commissioner for Economic, Financial and Trade Relations with the United Kingdom.

“This, in view of the fact that on 1 January 2021 the transitional period of Brexit will come to an end. New regulations will come into force in different sectors which will have a significant impact on our country.”

“Following approval by the European Central Bank for this appointment, Vella will resign as Governor of the Central Bank with effect from 31 December 2020.”

The government thanked Minister Scicluna for his “impeccable work as Minister for Finance over the past seven years, moving from a situation of an excessive deficit procedure before 2013 to the best European economy. His leadership of the country’s finances was instrumental to the presentation of successful budgets which created and distributed wealth and changed the lives of thousands of Maltese and Gozitan families for the better.”

The Government also thanked Mario Vella for the work he has done as Governor of the Central Bank of Malta, providing strategic direction for this crucial institution of the country.

The Government congratulated Edward Scicluna and Mario Vella on their new roles and said that it is looking forward to their further contributions to benefit the country.

Scicluna has been Minister of Finance since 2013.