A prosaic start to 2014

I have been trying to put together an intelligible account about the thinking behind the choice of the next President of the Republic of Malta.

Former prime minister Alfred Sant may not have been the most lovable character, but his opinion and arguments of late are rather inspirational.

Sant has taken umbrage at the suggestion by Nationalist leader Simon Busuttil that the next President of the Republic should hail from the Nationalist camp.

A very cheeky demand, if you ask me.

This year, Joseph Muscat will be appointing the new president to take over from George Abela, the former Labour deputy leader chosen by Lawrence Gonzi.

At that time, Abela was seen as something of a saviour of the PN, for having stabbed Alfred Sant in the back.

Busuttil has argued, "The choice should inspire unity, as did the choice of George Abela. Unity should not be given just lip service, but must be lived. It has to be built on strong values and principles."

As expected, Sant has hit back and said that the choice should be final and not dictated to by the Nationalist Opposition.

"The balance has yet to be leveled after all those years where people who simply were not Nationalist-leaning, were set aside."

Agreed and understandable - there is an element of restrained anger and resentment from Alfred Sant towards the Nationalist administration, but not without reason.

Given that he only governed for 22 months, he feels cheated.

Sant argued that the Nationalist government's choice of George Abela, who resigned as Labour deputy leader in 1998 after Sant decided to announce early elections, was down to "occult reasons best left unsaid" and as a palliative to the Gonzi administration's "limitless arrogance".

It is important to recall that George Abela remained sympathetic to Dom Mintoff, much to Sant's chagrin (and hypocritically, to the PN's pleasure).

I love the words 'palliative' and 'occult'. And it is perhaps here that I can come in to expand on the matter, if Sant would rather not.

When George Abela was appointed President by Lawrence Gonzi after Fenech Adami's indecent choice as President, Gonzi's ploy was clear. Gonzi's ruses have to be taken for what they were. A balancing act that extended Gonzi's expiry date until his fall from grace in March of last year.

The great success of Lawrence Gonzi was being able to survive against all odds.

First of all, he wanted to rob the Labour Party of a man who was seen as a moderate and was appreciated by the PN electorate, and therefore more of a threat to the PN. More so because Abela had shown extreme disloyalty towards Alfred Sant and resigned from deputy leader after the general conference decided to go for an early election.

And secondly he was not too happy with appointing Louis Galea, even though he (Gonzi) had given Galea the impression that he was the ideal candidate for the job.

Former PN minister Louis Galea had some serious baggage after the infamous Auxiliary Worker's scheme and Foundation for Tomorrow's schools. Two Nationalist-created schemes which led Galea to make some pretty questionable decisions which gave the impression of impropriety.

"I'm annoyed at the PN's insistence that since the last President was a Labourite, then the next one should be a Nationalist... before [Abela] the last presidents were from the PN camp. Correct though their behaviour was throughout their tenure, every single choice increased the scale of what was political divisive. What's more divisive than a government appointing its former prime minister as President?" Sant said, referring to Eddie Fenech Adami's appointment in 2004.

Sant said that the discussions at the time, during which he served as Opposition leader, was that the decision was final. "I know this because I was there."

Busuttil's call for a figure that unifies the nation seems to have given the impression that he was completely oblivious to the history (not too remote) of the PN.

His predecessors (Gonzi and Fenech Adami) ignored all the writings on the wall, and perhaps the worst offence of all was the appointment of Eddie Fenech Adami as President soon after he had anointed Lawrence Gonzi as prime minister.

However beyond the background to appointing a president, I would very much hope and believe that the function of the next president should be on the agenda.

Surely the more crucial debate about the president should be about what the next president can do to represent the changes in Maltese society, especially in shaping a new Republic and a new Constitution.

None of the former presidents have succeeded in contributing positively to a change in the Constitution.

The new Republic is one that is representative of a modern vibrant country reflected by the dramatic changes in the social fabric of this country.

One that binds the old with the new, one that links the growing secular society with the old but ever present confessional one.

A president who goes beyond the unifying factor and positions the nation for a much needed reform in the institutions and one that changes the partisan approach in the judiciary, broadcasting, the choices in the executive, electoral reform and party financing.

A president who is sensitive to the social and religious diversity that exists within our society and the social imbalance that continues to persist.

A president who will confront the question of nationhood and more importantly, of what it means to be Maltese.

A president conscious of the country's wellbeing and the need to define the meaning of security in the right economic decisions and more importantly, in seeking a balance between moving forward and retaining compromise and stability.

It sounds all very prosaic to wish for a president who departs from the traditions of the last presidents, who seemed more concerned in reading pre-prepared speeches scripted for them at Castille or in officiating ceremonies.

Or in spending endless hours listening to religious expositions in cold and draughty churches rather than imbuing a new meaning to a future Constitution fit for a changing nation that is 50 years old this year.

Beyond the sweet and prosaic words, it is time for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to show that the next president will not be a personality who simply falls into a symbolic role and stops there.

Change can only happen if the people who embrace change make it happen.