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NEWS 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 JANUARY 2023 4. Aborting the presidency In January, parliament is expected to conclude deliberations on the Criminal Code amendment to allow a pregnancy to be terminated if a woman's life or health is in danger. Government will tweak the proposal but George Vella's moral convic- tions on abortion could be tested, leading him to abort the presidency prematurely. 5. Metro feasibility study Will this be the year Malta finally sees light at the end of the metro tunnel? The numbers will inform the decision on financial feasibility and these could be expected lat- er on this year. Whether an actual decision is made to embark on this ambitious multi-billion-euro pro- ject remains to be seen. 6. A sexual health policy is born At long last Malta will have an ad- journed sexual health policy more than a decade, and a radical- ly-changed society, after the first such policy was enacted. Crucial will be how abortion is dealt with given the latest legal developments. with his conscience that precludes him from agreeing with abortion at all costs. There is nothing in the Constitution that resolves this conundrum that Vel- la could eventually face. The president does not have the power to send a law back to parliament for reconsideration like the Italian president. 'No substitution of Cabinet's will with president's own' In his book, Il-Manwal tal-President (The President's Manual), the only guide to interpreting the Constitution, former president Ugo Mifsud Bonni- ci argues the president cannot refrain from giving assent to an act of parlia- ment because it goes against his princi- ples or morality. "If the president feels that his con- science does not allow him to assent, he should resign," the non-binding guide suggests. Mifsud Bonnici explains that the pres- ident should adhere to the advice given to him by Cabinet and "never substi- tute the Cabinet's will with his own". Mifsud Bonnici says the Constitution makes it clear that despite the coun- try's executive function being vested in the president, it is the Cabinet that exercises "general direction and con- trol of government and is collectively accountable to parliament". The president's role, Mifsud Bonnici argues, is limited to making sure that at face value, the law before him has passed through the proper legislative process and any apparent anti-consti- tutionality must be determined by the law courts and not the president. If George Vella follows the precepts laid out in this manual and his an- ti-abortion conviction is too important to put aside, his only route will be to resign. This will create a constitutional crisis and a political problem for the govern- ment. Enter Frank The Constitution does not specifical- ly make provisions for the resignation of a sitting president but Article 49 speaks of a temporary vacancy and its provisions could kick in until parlia- ment appoints a new one. Article 49 reads: "Whenever the office of President is temporarily vacant, and until a new President is appointed… those functions shall be performed by such person as the Prime Minister, af- ter consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, may appoint or, if there is no person in Malta so appointed and able to perform those functions, by the Speaker of the House of Representa- tives." With the next president requiring a two-thirds parliamentary majority to be appointed, it is unlikely both sides of the House will reach a quick consensus if Vella steps down. This means acting president Frank Bezzina will temporarily be appointed by the Prime Minister so as not to leave the post empty. In this way, the abor- tion amendment will be given the green light and become law. Managing political fallout The circumstances that would have led to Vella aborting his presidential term prematurely will be unprecedent- ed and possibly lead to a discussion on the role of the president. But it is not the constitutional issues at stake that will be of concern for the Labour government but the potential political fallout, especially among cer- tain sections of its grass roots. The Labour leader will have to convince supporters that Vella's pre- mature departure is regrettable but part of the inevitable cost to safeguard the lives and health of women. It will be a hard case to sell but one that Robert Abela has ample time to argue for. What will complicate matters for Ab- ela, and the Nationalist Party, is the possibility that the anti-abortion camp will mobilise to gather signatures for an abrogative referendum to be held on the amendment. The timeframes for this are dictated at law and also depend on when the sig- natures start being collected. But it is not implausible for Malta to head for an abrogative referendum by the end of the year or the start of 2024. This all remains in the realm of pos- sibility and probability but until then, it is the more immediate parliamentary process and presidential actions that matter most. Vella could start 2023 being an un- willing protagonist if he resigns. The amendment, which is a single clause, effectively introduc- es two exceptions to Malta's strict anti-abortion law: the protec- tion of a woman's life and her health if this is in grave jeopardy. The amendment introduces a new clause in the Criminal Code without touching the rest of the law that criminalises abortion. The controversy revolves primarily around the health aspect with critics arguing this opens the door wide open to abortion on demand. Some have even asked for 'health' to be qualified as physical ailment to rule out mental health problems as a reason for abortion. Government has argued the amendment is needed to give doctors and their patients peace of mind in those circumstanc- es where a termination of pregnancy is inevitable or needed to safeguard the woman's life or health. What is the abortion amendment?