The Nationalist Party is likely to support the nomination of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca as the next president despite berating the government for not consulting it over her appointment, Times of Malta has learnt.
Sources within the PN parliamentary group said voting against Ms Coleiro Preca’s nomination “would do the party no good”.
They argued, however, that the Opposition had every right to make its case against the government’s “authoritarian” approach.
After a 10-minute meeting in Castille on Tuesday, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of presenting him with a fait accompli. However, in a short statement issued some hours later, the PN took a much more measured approach and while reiterating its earlier criticism it congratulated Ms Coleiro Preca.
Voting against Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca’s nomination will do the PN no good
Though the PN has said it would only pronounce itself after debating the issue internally, within the parliamentary group, early indications are that the overwhelming majority of Opposition MPs feel “it would be unwise to fall into the temptation of voting against Ms Coleiro Preca”.
One MP told this newspaper that the fact the government had not consulted with the Opposition should not reflect badly on Ms Coleiro Preca.
The concerns a number of MPs are likely to raise are about the additional roles Ms Coleiro Preca will be assuming, as per the Prime Minister’s wish to widen the presidency’s remit. The Opposition may demand a number of legal clarifications on the matter.
Though it is not unprecedented for a president to enjoy unanimous parliamentary support, it will be the first time the Opposition votes in favour of somebody hailing from the government ranks.
While, five years ago, George Abela became the first Head of State to receive the Labour Opposition’s unanimous backing, this was no surprise seeing that Dr Abela came from within the Labour Party. Five years down the line, the PN was arguing that the Labour government was morally bound to reciprocate the gesture, even though no such constitutional obligations existed.
Nevertheless, even though the Prime Minister “defied” the PN’s call by nominating one of his senior Cabinet members, an Opposition MP argued that the PN “should rise above politics and send a strong signal that it wanted to look forward rather than bicker over this issue”.
The Opposition may demand legal clarifications
In 1974, the majority of Opposition MPs had backed Malta’s first president, Sir Anthony Mamo. Nevertheless, a number of them, including the late former prime minister George Borg Olivier, had voted against. Subsequently, between 1976 and 2008, the Opposition voted against or abstained.
In 1976, the PN Opposition had voted against but did not call for a division over the appointment of Anton Buttigieg. Then, in February 1982, Opposition MPs were not present in the Chamber as the PN had boycotted Parliament following the perverse result of the 1981 general election.
In 1989, Labour, under the leadership of former prime minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, had vehemently opposed the nomination of Ċensu Tabone to the point that it even called for a division and boycotted his presidency.
In 1994, Labour voted against the nomination of Ugo Mifsud Bonnici but did not demand a division. In contrast, it had fiercely criticised the appointment and called for a division in the cases of Guido de Marco in 1999 and Eddie Fenech Adami in 2004.