Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1519405
YES, we have a new President – hallelujah. Yes, we have a new woman President – hallelujah, hallelu- jah. Yes, we have a new Madam President who already shot herself in the foot by delving into subjects predominantly outside the competence of the presidency. President Myriam Spiteri Debono talked about corrup- tion, unity, wounds, and all the subjects under the sun about which little is being done to solve them. I am sure Spiteri Debono knows perfectly well that nothing will change by the time she bows out of office. But of course, it was the oc- casion to say all the nice things expected of her for the occa- sion. It happens every time. This is life. The parody must go on. But we Maltese are so fond of such inauguration ceremonies. We even make it a point to in- form God directly about them. So, there we were, trotting off to St John's Co-Cathedral, all dressed up, soldiers, horses and all, with dignitaries making the obvious presence and Mass being celebrated by no less than the Archbishop of Malta Charles Jude Scicluna, which ceremonial functions seem to be the only thing he can excel in. But let us go back to Myri- am Spiteri Debono's inaugural speech. The basic responsibil- ity of the President of Malta is to safeguard the Constitution and supposedly nothing else. Spiteri Debono hardly touched on the importance of this re- sponsibility in her inaugural speech. So, we appoint a new Presi- dent who is supposed to safe- guard our Constitution but who apparently knows next to nothing about the Constitu- tion. But who says that the Pres- ident of Malta needs to know anything about the Constitu- tion. Look at the previous pres- ident, George Vella. He was prominent by his absence dur- ing the serious constitutional crisis of the Joseph Muscat era. He played the Humpty Dumpty role. He stayed quietly on the wall, said very little and he sur- vived the presidency. Spiteri Debono should take his example. Keep out of an- ything that does not relate to her office and she will certainly survive her term. And how about celebrating the 'big event' of the govern- ment and the Opposition hav- ing for once agreed between them on the appointment of a new president. I ask myself, what is so special about this joint venture be- tween these two political foes For the government side, the incontestable criteria for choosing this individual fell into two elements: First, who- ever was to be chosen must be from a pool of hard core La- bour members and secondly, they must be someone who can be trusted not to oppose in an- yway government's policies or actions be they good or bad. So, the Prime Minister delved into the Labour Party's an- tiques wardrobe, looked for dormant non-functional skele- tons and apparently found the perfect match to fit the above criteria. And what about the choice of Francis Zammit Dimech for acting president? The need for an acting president is archaic. This was something necessary back in times when we did not have the technology of today and having a president leaving the island without a stand-in would have been unthinkable. But things have changed. Should at any point any crisis arise that would require the wisdom of the President while she happens to be abroad, all she has to do is switch on her WhatsApp, put it on video and have a chat with whoever is concerned and about any sub- ject of concern. Should doc- uments need to be signed, an electronic signature would suf- fice as this is legally acceptable worldwide these days. The presidency, as long as it remains a political appoint- ment to suit whichever party is in power, offers no big deal to the nation's interests since we all know what to expect. The notification of an acting pres- ident, is even less of a big deal. What Spiteri Debono failed to refer to in her inaugural speech was the L-Istrina char- ity event that takes place every year under the auspices of the president. Millions of euros have been collected. I am sure that most of these funds have been used for a good cause, but greater transparency is needed. For the last 11 years, the peo- ple of Malta have been living under a Labour administration, where it has become almost a culture that where millions are involved, corruption is in- volved. Because the L-Istrina funds are known to be widely used for various good causes, such noble intentions could easily blind us all to the risk of abuse. These funds should be audit- ed on a yearly basis because as my mother, God rest her soul, used to say, "there can only be two smells under the lid cover- ing a pot; a good smell or a foul smell and you can only know if you take the lid off". Myriam Spiteri Debono as President is responsible for the proper handling of these funds. She should ensure that a full audit is carried out by a profes- sional independent firm in an exercise of transparency. The choice of the new Pres- ident will be an event to cele- brate if the government and the Opposition did indeed agree on the choice of a president in the likes of Sir Anthony Mamo, who showed himself a champi- on of integrity combined with legal wisdom. He was also known for his po- litical independence and was subsequently loved by all. He remains in the heart of most Maltese of goodwill. All the other presidents, including Na- tionalist leaning ones, do not even begin to compare with him. So, let us celebrate when in- deed there are reasons to cel- ebrate. Frank Camilleri Frank Camilleri is a company director and holds an MBA from Queen's University Belfast maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 APRIL 2024 4 OPINION We have a new president – hallelujah! President Myriam Spiteri Debono greet by neighbours after taking the oath as President