None of the additional powers to the President which the Prime Minister had spoken about on the appointment of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca last April appear to have been granted to her.
The President admitted on TV on Thursday that it was not possible for her to take over the new responsibilities Joseph Muscat had spoken about because they did not fall within her constitutional remit.
Dr Muscat had said the new presidency would be different and more active in scope. As President, he added, Ms Coleiro Preca would still head several commissions in the social field.
Although the commissions in question are not mentioned as being among the President’s constitutional roles, Dr Muscat had pointed out that the government had sought advice and was told there was nothing wrong in delegating the overview of such systems to the President.
My office is not a ministry
Dr Muscat had noted that the nature of other entities Ms Coleiro Preca would head were such that the distinction between the executive arm of the government and the presidency would be maintained.
But Ms Coleiro Preca said during the weekly TV discussion programme Dissett that after looking into whether it was possible to take over additional responsibilities – particularly in the social field – she had advised the Prime Minister that it would be better if these were dealt with at ministerial level.
“I don’t have the structure or the constitutional remit to implement such additional responsibilities mentioned by the Prime Minister,” she said. “My office is not a ministry and so I can’t take any executive decisions,” she noted.
The additional responsibilities Dr Muscat had mentioned allocating to the new President included the national strategy against poverty, the implementation of the EU’s Food Aid Programme, the Family Commission, the Commission against Domestic Violence and the Leap project.
Sources close to the Office of the President yesterday told Times of Malta none of the additional responsibilities mentioned had in fact been assumed by Ms Coleiro Preca.
The commissions and programmes originally listed by the Prime Minister still fall within the portfolio of the Ministry for Family and Social Solidarity.
Asked for a reaction to the President’s comments, a government spokesman did not respond.
The Nationalist Opposition had supported Ms Coleiro Preca’s nomination as President but underlined its reservations over the additional responsibilities mentioned by the Prime Minister – noting these were not consonant with the Constitution.
Labour MP Marlene Farrugia had criticised the Prime Minister’s decision, publicly stating that the President “could not become an extension of the Social Policy Ministry”.