The post of Speaker of the House of Representatives should be elevated to the third highest in the country, after the President of Malta and the Prime Minister, Nationalist MP Michael Frendo told Parliament yesterday.
Speaking on the motion of the adjournment, he said it was necessary to amend the Constitution, which said that when the office of the President was temporarily vacant and no acting deputy was appointed, the post should be filled by the Chief Justice.
Dr Frendo said that although the office of Chief Justice deserved all respect, it was Parliament which personified the democratic will of the people as expressed in the general elections. As such it was the Speaker who should automatically take over the presidency of the country when the President was away.