Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/782193
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 FEBRUARY 2017 2 News The Office of the President has unveiled the painted portrait of President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, executed by artist Philippa Bianchi. The President is represented seated beside a desk, illuminated by a warm light emanating from a nearby lamp. The first sitting and studies for the pose took place at San Anton Palace, in Attard, whilst the painting was executed at the artist's studio in Burmarrad. Bianchi's work pays homage to the tradition of realist portrait painting, of which she is one of Malta's leading exponents. Her paintings capture both the physical likeness of her sitters, as well as their personality and temperament. The characteristics that guided the artist's portrait of President Coleiro Preca were the President's 'warmth, strength and dedication to hard work.' Philippa's style is marked by strong painterly qualities that combine beautifully controlled brushwork with areas of spontaneous execution. Bianchi has an impressive international portfolio of major portraits. Selected works include Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Paul Cremona, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Princess Adelheid and Princess Teresa von Liechtenstein, Professor Nasser David Khalili, philanthropist and art collector, Lady Natalie Milbank, and Mr Alfred Pisani, Chairman of the Corinthia Group. Born in 1982, great-grand daughter to famous painter Giuseppi Cali, Bianchi obtained her degree in art from Central St. Martin's College of Art in London and furthered her studies in atelier painting in Florence. She has lived in several countries painting portraits for a living. Her personal inspiration stems from Caravaggio, Agnolo Bronzino, and Jean-Auguste- Dominique Ingres. The painting now hangs alongside the other portraits of Malta's Presidents in the dining hall at The Palace, Valletta. PRESIDENT'S OFFICIAL PORTRAIT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Abela raised a point of order to demand Said to clarify whether these meetings were being held in- side his own ministry. "I have asked in Parliament whether any meetings took place in which it was decided not to ar- raign people arrested for traffick- ing. The minister also has access to statistics about how many people were arrested and how many peo- ple were arraigned and how many were arrested for possession and trafficking but not arraigned. I am not privy to this information, but the minister has access to this in- formation and he can check who was arrested but not arraigned," Said replied. Abela denied such meetings had taken place within his ministry and insisted that he cannot interfere in the police's operations. Yet MaltaToday has learnt that Said is basing his arguments on hard evidence that shows that there are known cases of individu- als who were arrested on drug traf- ficking charges and still have yet to be arraigned. Said has also insinuated that they were not charged because of the intervention of influential third parties. MaltaToday is informed that some of these cases go back three years and could have involved the personal involvement of some senior figures within the Labour administration who were not nec- essarily politically appointed indi- viduals. Police sources also told Malta- Today that there were a number of cases that were still awaiting clearance before arraignment. The first was from a very small group of individuals who were be- ing assessed by the Attorney Gen- eral on whether to face a jury or not, and another group of people arrested in possession of a small quantity of drugs for personal use and were awaiting their appoint- ment before a tribunal. In his impassioned interven- tion, Said warned that drug abuse and trafficking had "exploded" in Gozo and said that although the police are well aware of where the problem lays, "very little is being done" and that arrests had dwin- dled over the past four years. He added that this was either down to a lack of expertise "or a lack of will" to enable the police force to deal with drug trafficking. Said also accused government of transferring Gozitan police of- ficers with previous experience in the Drug Squad for political rea- sons. "Because of their political alle- giances, they are being deployed to dish out traffic fines in Rabat," he said, adding that calls for their reinstatement in the CID were be- ing ignored. Said quizzes minister over drug arrests Chris Said