Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/949290
16 News MALTA'S head of state has de- nied press reports that she is send- ing 'diplomatic signals' indicating a desire for a second term as Presi- dent of Republic once her term expires in April 2019. And for the second time in four months, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca has excluded having any interest in becoming an MEP. But it was Coleiro Preca who refused to exclude a return to politics once her term as President will be over. "I have two years left as Presi- dent, after that we will see," she told Saviour Balzan on TVM's Xtra in January 2017. It was only after that programme that she qualified her answer by saying she does not "contemplate a return to partisan politics": in itself, a hint of having a prominent role in civil society. Her subsequent denials of a seeking an MEP candidature in 2019 simply confirms how po- litically relevant Coleiro Preca has remained. At 59, she is simply too young to be relegated to the role of a withdrawn President emeritus. But this post-presidential ambi- tion represents a major dilemma for the head of government, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who in 2014 kicked the social policy min- ister upstairs to the presidency, in full knowledge of opinion polls showing her to be his most popu- lar minister. She took up the post reluctantly, and she left a vacuum in the min- istry that was always a flagship for any centre-left government. But by keeping the option of a political return open, Coleiro Pre- ca perhaps fed the kind of specu- lation that could give her leverage over Muscat. For unlike the past presidents who were well past their prime or reached their career's apex upon being sent to San Anton, Coleiro Preca will be 60 at the end of her term. And her stature has grown among voters, thanks to her non- partisan but outspoken declara- tions. An ideological rift Coleiro Preca knows a return to partisan politics would weaken her popular standing among middle- of-the-road voters, who rightly expect her to stay out of the fray. It would not mean that she re- tires from the sphere of public debate. Some people criticise her for not speaking out sufficiently on the moral question facing Mus- cat's administration. After all, Coleiro Preca herself raised the bar, through her incisive critique of the direction taken by the coun- try in the past years. On various occasions, particu- larly in her annual Republic Day speeches, she sent strong political messages on the environment, the rule of law and migration. In 2016 she punched holes in the "best of times" narrative by listing the problems facing the country: "social exclusion, threats to qual- ity of life as a result of unsustain- able development, overcrowding in residential zones, the lack of public spaces, noise and traffic, and the lack of political honesty and truth in politics." She slammed the Government for wanting to deport failed asy- lum seekers, insisting that "mor- ally we should not punish those who have spent years contributing to the prosperity of our country and being part of our society by sending them back rather than ap- preciating them." And in 2017 she expressed doubts on the full scale legalisation of pros- titution which she wants decrimi- nalised, expressing her concern that this could lead to more ex- ploitation, thus carving a particular niche which appeals to both the left wing and the more socially con- servative wings of her party. And although her reaction to Caruana Madame President? maltatoday SUNDAY 4 MARCH 2018 WHAT TO DO WITH Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca's term as President ends in April 2019, two months before the European elections. Will the Labour firebrand return to active politics and at what cost for Joseph Muscat? JAMES DEBONO Deprived of any institutional role, the outspoken Coleiro Preca may easily become a reference point for the orphaned left in the Labour orbit, where she retains popularity with Labour grassroots Call for the Post of IAID Executive (Compliance & Risk) in the Internal Audit and Investigations Department within the Cabinet Office, Office of the Prime Minister The Director General (IAID) invites applications for the post of IAID Executive (Compliance & Risk) in the Internal Audit and Investigations Department within the Cabinet Office, Office of the Prime Minister. Further details are available on the Government Gazette of Friday, 23 February 2018. Applications as detailed in the afore-mentioned edition of the Government Gazette, are to be received by the Director General (IAID), Internal Audit and Investigations Department, Lower Ground Floor, Valletta Buildings, South Street, Valletta VLT 1103 or submitted through the Online Go vernment Recruitment Portal on http://recruitment.gov.mt, by not later than noon of Friday, 9 March 2018. Office of the Prime Minister 21237737 info.iaid@gov.mt