Myriam Spiteri Debono could be the next president

Former Speaker Myriam Spiteri Debono’s name has been floated as the next president of the Republic but no agreement has yet been reached, MaltaToday is informed.

Spiteri Debono’s name was floated to Opposition leader Bernard Grech by Prime Minister Robert Abela earlier this week after talks on George Vella’s replacement stalled.

Vella’s term in office ends on 4 April and his replacement requires a two-thirds parliamentary majority to be appointed.

Spiteri Debono, 72, was Speaker of the House between 1996 and 1998, overseeing the turbulent Labour administration that ended prematurely. She was the first woman to occupy the role of Speaker.

She had contested elections with the Labour Party and had also captained the women’s section of the party.

Sources privy to the talks said Grech will be consulting his parliamentary group on the matter. The meeting is likely to happen early next week given that Grech is currently in Brussels for a meeting of the European People’s Party.

The PN had nominated Spiteri Debono for the role of Standards Commissioner in January 2023, but she had said she was not interested in the post.

In a speech on Victory Day in 2021, Spiteri Debono had paid tribute to journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, calling for national redemption.

Spiteri Debono had said the death of Caruana Galizia switched on the nation’s “warning lights”.

“It was a death that shocked us. It is difficult, indeed impossible, to heal the wound suffered by her family, the sorrow of those she loved and who loved her. We need to redeem ourselves as a nation. We need to unite, as we did in the past, for the necessary changes of our time, changes we have already started to do,” Spiteri Debono had said.

READ ALSO: Former Speaker pays tribute to Caruana Galizia: ‘We need to redeem ourselves as a nation’