Chris Fearne Returns: Back After Two Years

Chris Fearne walked back into Castille this morning, two years after corruption charges sent him into political exile. The paediatric surgeon who once stood as Robert Abela's deputy now returns as a cabinet minister in a move that tells you everything about how Malta's political class views accountability.

Fearne's resurrection comes as Abela announces his post-election cabinet, with the former deputy prime minister joining Rosianne Cutajar among the politically rehabilitated. Both faced criminal charges. Both are now back at the top table. The message could not be clearer: scandal is temporary, power is permanent.

Repubblika fired immediately, accusing Abela of "dismantling basic democratic accountability." They have a point. Fearne was charged over the hospitals deal that became the defining corruption case of Maltese politics. Cutajar faced her own ethical scandals. Yet here they are, back in cabinet as if nothing happened. It is either breathtaking confidence in the justice system or breathtaking contempt for it.

The timing matters. Labour won the election convincingly, giving Abela the political capital to make bold appointments. But boldness and recklessness often wear the same face in Maltese politics. By bringing back figures still entangled in legal proceedings, Abela sends a signal to his base: loyalty trumps liability, and patient politicians get rewarded.

Meanwhile, the broader picture emerges from Labour's electoral machine. The party's top performers across districts showed the depth of their organisation — not just in Valletta or the harbour areas, but across the archipelago. This was not a personality victory for Abela alone but a structural triumph that gives him room to take risks with controversial appointments.

The opposition fragments continue their predictable dance. Seventeen Momentum banners disappeared during the campaign, the third-party movement claims, in what they call tactics to "silence" alternative voices. Whether theft or vandalism, it reflects the narrow space Malta reserves for politics beyond the red-blue binary.

Abela also moves to consolidate control of parliament itself, proposing Carmelo Abela as Speaker — a safe pair of hands for managing legislative business while the real decisions happen in cabinet rooms. The constitutional provision allowing speakers from outside parliament was ignored. Why take risks when you can install family?

Fearne's return closes a circle that began with the hospitals scandal and ends with political rehabilitation. Whether it represents the justice system working or failing depends entirely on where you sit, and Malta's political class has always been comfortable with that ambiguity.