President not consulted on opposition leader

President Eddie Fenech Adami said last night that he had not been consulted on the Labour Party's decision to temporarily retain Charles Mangion as Leader of the Opposition instead of the newly elected deputy leader for parliamentary affairs Anġlu Farrugia.

He was speaking to The Times after constitutional lawyers raised serious doubts over the correctness of the decision when under the Constitution, it is the President's sole prerogative whom to appoint as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives.

There was certainly a requirement to consult the President on the matter, the lawyers said.

When asked about his position on the matter, the President said he would have to see and would need to look at the Constitution.

Speaking in Rabat yesterday, new party leader Joseph Muscat said the position of Opposition Leader should have, by right, been occupied by Dr Farrugia, who is a member of Parliament. The latter, however, had suggested that Dr Mangion retain the position until Dr Muscat is co-opted to Parliament after the summer recess.

Dr Mangion, former acting leader and deputy leader for parliamentary affairs, was sworn in as Leader of the Opposition by the President after Alfred Sant stepped down just before the Labour leadership election took place on June 5. Following the election of the new deputy leaders last week, Dr Mangion no longer holds any official leadership position within the party.

Yesterday he told The Times he had agreed to remain Leader of the Opposition until September, when Parliament reconvenes, if that was deemed in the party's best interests. He said he also appreciated the fact that this was Dr Farrugia's idea and that he has the backing of the new leadership team to retain the role.

In spite of the understanding between Dr Mangion, Dr Muscat and Dr Farrugia, President Fenech Adami said he had not been contacted by anyone in the Labour party to ask for his advice on the matter.

He was asked whether Dr Mangion could, constitutionally, remain Leader of the Opposition once the Labour Party's new deputy leader for parliamentary affairs was Dr Farrugia.

The President said he would have to explore the issue further and look carefully at what the Constitution says.

He noted that the Constitution makes a distinction between the leader of the party in opposition and the leader of the opposition parliamentary group.

Under the Constitution, the decision on who to appoint Opposition Leader rests with the President and he has to nominate that MP who, in his opinion, is the leader in Parliament of the Opposition.

One constitutional lawyer yesterday drew a parallel between the President's appointment of Dr Mangion as Opposition Leader after Dr Sant's resignation and the current situation in which Dr Farrugia is now next in line to Dr Muscat in the party hierarchy.

As things stood today, Dr Mangion no longer had an official role within the party and, therefore, no credentials to be Opposition Leader, he said.