This archive report was first published on 11 May 2020.
On May 10, 2020, a diplomatic incident unfolded in Finland when Malta's ambassador, Michael Zammit Tabona, resigned following a Facebook post that drew parallels between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Adolf Hitler.
According to The Times of Malta, the ambassador's post, which has since been deleted, read: "75 years ago we stopped Hitler. Who will stop Angela Markel? She has fulfilled Hitler's dream! To control Europe."
The Maltese foreign ministry instructed the ambassador to remove the message, but it was too late. The diplomat's tenure as ambassador to Finland, which began in 2014, came to an abrupt end.
Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo assured the German embassy that an apology would be sent, as reported by The Times of Malta on May 10, 2020.
