Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1076517
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 30 JANUARY 2019 3 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Last Sunday, Nationalist leader Adrian Delia called on the government to ap- point a president from the Opposition benches. Of Malta's nine presi- dents, only the first was not a former member of parlia- ment – Anthony Mamo, the Chief Justice at the time, who was appointed when Malta became a republic in 1974. All other presidents of the republic – Anton Buttigieg, Agatha Barbara, Censu Ta- bone, Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, Guido de Marco, Eddie Fenech Adami, George Ab- ela, and Marie Louise Colei- ro Preca – were former sen- ior government ministers or MPs. Fenech Adami was the on- ly prime minister to go on and become president. Pawlu Xuereb was acting president for two years be- tween 1987 and 1989. JAMES DEBONO GEORGE Vella, a medical doctor from the Labour stronghold of Zej- tun known for his integrity and rec- titude at a time when his party was plagued by corruption and violence, represented the clean break with the past after the party's defeat in the 1992 election. Vella was himself Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici's choice as successor but he turned down the invitation, prefer- ring to contest for the post of deputy leader for parliamentary affairs. He was part of the leadership tri- umvirate along party leader Alfred Sant and fellow deputy leader George Abela, which successfully but briefly returned Labour to power in 1996. As foreign minister he was contro- versially responsible for 'freezing' Malta's application for EU member- ship, But he also showed foresight by promoting Euro-Mediterranean dia- logue and actively supporting the Palestinian right for self-determina- tion. Former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister David Levy were the main protagonists in the Euro-Mediter- ranean conference held in Malta in April 2017. Apart from serving as foreign min- ister, Vella was also responsible for planning and the environment. Following a hunger strike by activ- ists protesting the Portomaso pro- ject, he heeded recommendations by the ombudsman to ensure that the transfer of public land to private interests is subject to parliamentary scrutiny. After the fall of the Labour govern- ment in 1998 Vella continued to serve as foreign policy spokesperson, vo- ciferously opposing Malta's renewed EU bid. But following the 2003 elec- tion defeat he supported the party's change of stance, opposing Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici attempt in 2005 to bind the party against a draft consti- tution for the EU. "We respect Karmenu Mifsud Bon- nici's views but one should be careful not to scare away those Labour Party supporters who were in favour of the EU and who were won back when the party changed its course on the EU issue," Vella said. Echoes of the internal rifts in the party preceding the fall of the Sant government resurfaced in the PL leadership contest in 2008, which saw Vella supporting Joseph Muscat over George Abela. During the campaign Vella dis- missed claims by Abela that the Sant government had been considering a change of policy on the EU in 1997. Vella returned to the post of foreign minister in the Muscat government elected in 2013 but did not contest the 2017 election. He did not publi- cally pronounce himself on the Pan- ama issue but was reported to have taken a strong position internally for Konrad Mizzi's resignation. In 2014 he broke the government's silence on "the carnage" in Gaza dur- ing attacks which saw nearly 600 Pal- estinians and 29 Israelis killed. But Vella was far more pronounced on the issue after departing from ac- tive politics, describing the contin- ued occupation of Gaza and Pales- tinians by Israel as a case of "ethnic suppression… if not ethnic cleans- ing." In January of 2017 he poured cold water on the possibility of strik- ing a deal with Libya to stem the flow of migrants to Europe, which Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this week said was urgent. Vella is also known to have envi- ronmental considerations at heart. In 2011 he described the Ta' Moni- ta development in Marsaskala as an eye-sore and quashed the Labour led council's plans for a carpark in St Anne's Garden. Interviewed in 2016 Vella said that it hurts him even to look at places like Tigne. He also expressed dis- comfort with high-rise buildings, ac- knowledging that the country is fac- ing "over-development". Vella who had expressed reserva- tions on gay marriage and opposed embryo freezing also represented the more socially conservative wing of the party. His departure from partisan politics alongside Coleiro Preca's elevation to the presidency left the party more homogenous on moral issues. This re- sulted in full backing for gay marriage and changes to the embryo protection act which allowed embryo freezing. But his elevation to the presidency is bound to re-assure social con- servatives that the introduction of abortion is definitely not on Labour's agenda in the next five years. This may disappoint the party's more liberal wing which may see this as a lost opportunity for further liberal changes at a moment when Labour can afford taking risks in view of its strong majority. Vella's probable elevation to the presidency may provide him with a strong platform to voice interna- tional concerns particularly on the stalled middle-east process. Like Coleiro Preca he is also likely to act as a 'moral conscience" for the La- bour government on environmental issues. George Vella: Labour's Mr Integrity Vella's elevation to the Presidency could provide him with a platform to express views, which sometimes may be at odds with Muscat's more business friendly and liberal outlook Vella considered to be a mentor of Joseph Muscat