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[WATCH] Muscat wants to herald ‘Second Republic’ in national constitutional convention
Labour leader says new PL government will launch constitutional convention to give birth to ‘Second Republic’
6 February 2013, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
1 min read
Labour leader Joseph Muscat announced that should he be elected to government, he would be launching a Constitutional convention intending to give birth to what he described as a "Second Republic".
Addressing the media by the Belvedere in Lija - a place where one of the first meetings of the national assembly was held in 1919 - Muscat said that his government would embark on an ambitious exercise by involving not only politicians but also civil society to reach an agreement of the revisions needed to the relevance of the Constitution.
"We aim to reach agreements on revising the electoral law, the Broadcasting Authority and the rewording of Malta's neutrality concept to reflect the sign of the times," Muscat said.
He said that the convention would be aimed to have the broadest discussion ever, "with no holds barred".
Muscat stressed that the Convention would not be a government agenda, but a truly "national" agenda which could possibly also be open to a national referendum for the people's approval.
While acknowledging Malta's participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme, Muscat lauded government's handling of the Lybia crisis, and added that his efforts to amend the wording of the neutrality clause will be aimed at eliminating any ambiguous interpretations which would keep Malta from committing itself to UN or EU mandates.
Asked about former deputy leader Anglu Farrugia's forced resignation, Muscat broke his silence and reacted for the first time since Farrugia's interview on The Sunday Times. He condemned the death threats allegedly made to Farrugia and said that the former deputy leader was still welcome and had an important role to play within the Labour Party.
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Briffy, I would leave technical matters to technocrats and experts in their respective fields. Referenda should be held on more politically oriented matters. I am a firm believer that this system should gravitate down to local council levels on matters that concern the locality, and I do not mean just large development projects. Personally, I do believe that there is great merit in Labour's energy plan. Perhaps they could have been overtly ambitious re time frames, but I agree with their proposals. So what if it takes 30 months instead of 24. At the end it will do all of Malta fantastic good. The PN had 4 different opportunities to convert to pipelines and gas, but kept insisting on oil. WE ALL KNOW WHY NOW, DON'T WE?
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Better Future....How about starting with a referendum on Labour's proposed energy plan?
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This is the way to go, the Swiss way. The people should be consulted at least 4 to 5 times a year on the most important subjects that affect their lives.
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The US constitution of 1776 gave the United States a document that, barring 14 amendments, has served them well for almost 250 years. Yet it is evident to many in Malta that after only 50 years with almost no amendments (except in electoral law - where it serves the parties' interest), ours is in severe need of a total revamp. I only wish that in the new Constitution, national interest (especially taht of future generations) prevails over party political gain so that we will have a final document to be proud of.
