Friday’s traditional Republic Day ceremony managed to make more prominent headlines than many of its forerunners in recent history… though not entirely for the right reasons.

Let’s start with the more positive side. George Abela, obviously aware that he is in his final months of the presidency and therefore having no vested interest in the discussion he sought to provoke, suggested that it is time to change the way Malta chooses its President.

Dr Abela is proposing that rather than leaving the choice purely in the hands of the Prime Minister, it would be “wiser” if the choice were made through a wide consensus “within a framework of genuine exchanges… to ensure the selected candidate will be acceptable to all parties”.

The method of choosing the President has always been a hot potato. From Ċensu Tabone being boycotted by Labour to Eddie Fenech Adami’s appointment being greeted in Parliament by the Opposition wearing black ties, no appointment has gone down smoothly.

Yet at the end of their term, there has been universal agreement that our Presidents have performed correctly. Without exception, so far. The candidates who took on the role clearly understood it and honoured their commitments.

Efforts have also been made to find candidates outside the political field, but these have been shot down. It is also unclear whether a person with no political experience whatsoever would be suited to the role – which involves mixing with other heads of state.

Then there is the question of, can any candidate really be acceptable to both parties? Even Lawrence Gonzi’s historic decision to appoint someone from the other side of the political fence was seen by some cynics as a move to keep Dr Abela out of politics.

So while on paper it seems like a good idea for the President to be chosen through a process of consensus, one really has to question whether this is, in fact, desirable or practicable. The last thing the country needs is a never-ending discussion on the merits of an individual who is supposed to be a unifying figure in the country.

The less pleasant aspect of this year’s Republic Day was the awards ceremony. It emerged clearly that this process needs to be rethought.

Awards by the State are supposed to be an honour. They are also supposed to be given to people who are deserving of their nation’s recognition. The Labour government’s approach to last Friday trampled on both these notions.

It just made no sense at all to present an award to a child and her songwriting team for winning a competition that nobody had hitherto heard of. An award by the State should only be presented for consistent achievement. It is an insult to all other deserving recipients when this is not the case.

Worse still was the decision by the government to put forward for an award two people – Mark Camilleri and Alex Vella Gera – whose sole ‘achievement’ is being prosecuted (wrongly) for writing or publishing a novel littered with obscenities. This was pure, unadulterated, populist tokenism.

Mr Camilleri added insult to injury by failing to attend the ceremony, because it apparently clashed with his busy “agenda”, while Mr Vella Gera turned it down, embarrassing the bright sparks who decided to hand it to him.

Well, as this government is finding out, you reap what you sow in life. And while it will make mistakes, it should not continue to do so at the expense of the nation’s reputation.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.