Chris Cardona’s chief of staff is cheap-boutique owner

The Economy Minister’s chief of staff, Mario Azzopardi, is the owner of cheap boutiques called Pardi and Scruples in Birkirkara, Hamrun and Paola. He is also Chris Cardona’s chief canvasser.

How running tacky boutiques and canvassing votes for a politician door to door can ever qualify a man to head a cabinet minister’s secretariat is anybody’s guess, but this is the Labour Party we are dealing with.

So if Chris Cardona thinks that selling polyester trousers in Hamrun qualifies a man to run his ministerial secretariat, we shouldn’t be surprised at how he thinks that merely being 18 and an adult at law qualifies the polyester-trouser-seller’s nephew to head up the government’s new organisation which will provide security to all public buildings.

I had written about the identity of Chris Cardona’s head of secretariat as early as April 2013, straight after the general election, but had forgotten all about it until I saw these lovely photographs.

Chris Cardona (left), Minister for the Economy, with his head of secretariat, Mario Azzopardi, an owner of cheap boutiques called Pardi and Scruples

Chris Cardona with Karl Cutajar, the 18-year-old nephew of his head of secretariat, who he has put in control of the government’s new security company which will provide guards to all public buildings.