PN disassociates itself from L-Istrina boycott calls

The Nationalist Party has disassociated itself from calls made by party supporters to boycott the President’s annual charity fundraiser L-Istrina after George Vella signed the cannabis law.

PN Secretary-general Michael Piccinino said the party has encouraged all its candidates to support L-Istrina and the fundraiser for the Dar tal-Providenza. “The PN leader has in fact also urged people to donate to L-Istrina during Saturday's address at Milied Flimkien.”

Piccinino said the PN will be participating fully as it has done throughout the years in both fundraising efforts.

L-Istrina is a 12-hour telethon held on 26 December intended to collect funds for the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation. The Dar Tal-Providenza telethon in aid of the home for persons with a disability will be held on 1 January.

Within closed Facebook groups such as Demm Blue and Ejjew Nazzjonalisti, several PN supporters have called for a boycott of the President’s fundraiser after Vella signed into law the cannabis legalisation reform.

The PN voted against the reform in parliament but some supporters are now calling on the party not to participate in L-Istrina after the President ignored appeals from several groups and individuals not to sign the law.

Apart from comments on social media, some PN supporters have also called for the boycott during phone-ins on the party’s TV and radio stations.

The party’s news outlet gave ample space to lawyer Franco Debono, who outlined the legal and constitutional obligations of a president when he disagrees with a law. The article on the Net News portal ran under the headline: ‘The Constitution demands the President does not sign a law he disagrees with’.

Malta’s parliament last week approved cannabis legalisation that allows adults to possess up to 7g, cultivate four plants at home and buy the product from regulated clubs.

The law became official last Saturday when President George Vella signed it. Prior to signing the Bill into law, the President had said the Constitution precluded him from imposing his views on legitimate decisions taken by parliament.

In June 2019, the President had expressed “major reservations” on the legalization of marijuana, stating while the drug was of benefit if used in a medical scenario, extending the legalisation of cannabis for recreational purposes had to be treated with caution.

"Both as a doctor and a father I have major reservations on how wise it is to extend the legalisation of cannabis to go beyond its medical usage," he had said.

Knowing Vella’s stance on the issue, NGOs and academics opposed to the Bill called on the President not to sign it after their demands to make it more restrictive were dismissed.