MLP government would not requisition property

Labour Party deputy leader Charles Mangion yesterday made it clear that the MLP has no intention of requisitioning private property if it is returned to office.

He was asked for the party's stand following a report in The Times that the government favoured entrenching the repeal of the requisition order in the Constitution, because this would minimise the fear that a future government might reintroduce requisition laws.

Amending the Constitution requires the support of two-thirds of the MPs.

The right of the government to requisition private property was repealed in 1995 along with the liberalisation of the rent laws. The subject was discussed by the Cabinet last Monday when a paper analysing the rent laws was presented by Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity Dolores Cristina.

Dr Mangion yesterday said the opposition had received no detailed communication about the Cabinet's proposal so far and that an official stand would be taken by the MLP parliamentary group once the government's position was made officially known.

He ruled out, however, that Labour would reintroduce requisition laws if elected. The aim of requisitioning private property was extinct and was no longer practised by the Housing Authority, Dr Mangion said.

"Requisition laws were used by the government in the aftermath of the war when many people were left homeless," the Labour deputy leader said.

Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Harry Vassallo called the proposal "political science fiction" and said it reflected the government's lack of political maturity.

"This is part of the government's chess game. If the MLP says that it does not agree with this stupid proposal, the government could blame the opposition for not going ahead with reforming the rent regulations," Dr Vassallo said.

AD is busy campaigning for a referendum to abrogate rent laws under which properties rented out prior to 1995 are fixed at very low rates.

Both the political environment and the property market in the past, when requisition orders were used, were completely different from today's context, where the country was more democratic and property was a very important capital asset for people, Dr Vassallo said.

"I cannot imagine which political party in its right senses will start requisitioning property just like that," the AD chairman told The Times.

Dr Vassallo said Malta was a member of the European Union where there were enough channels to redress any requisition abuse by a government, which is why there was no need to entrench the repeal in the Constitution.

Such a move could prevent the government from using its prerogative to requisition property if Malta were hit by an earthquake, for example, Dr Vassallo said.