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18 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 JUNE 2018 22 June, 2008 Labour, AD in "political symbiosis" – Jo- seph Muscat LABOUR and Alternattiva Demokratika (AD) are in "political symbiosis" with each other and Labour was "more than ready" to work with AD in the national interest, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said when he welcomed new AD chairperson Arnold Cassola at Labour's headquarters in Hamrun yesterday. Muscat congratulated Cassola on his election as AD chairperson. "It is not only our duty, but it is our pleasure to welcome you and our col- leagues at AD. "When you look at the Labour Party's princi- ples and those of AD, there are many common things. These are many principles, especially in the social sector, which unite us and can be a common basis for us to work together," Mus- cat said. He added: "We had already declared that we are ready to work together with the govern- ment in all those matters of national interest, therefore we are more than willing to work along with those political and social forces in the country like AD, with which we have a political symbiosis. "I have spoken about the idea of a movement of progressives and moderates in this country, and I believe that we can work together. "There are issues on which we do not agree, however, I strongly believe that our country is begging us politicians not to become too much intrusive, and to develop a European orienta- tion not only based on directive and empty words, but in the way that we act and the way that we think, and how we set our political argumentation," Muscat insisted. On his part, Cassola expressed agreement with most of Muscat's arguments. "I think both of us have a European experience. Brussels instilled in us an added spirit of collaboration… you get used to work with the European Peo- ple's Party, the Socialists, the Liberals, trying to hammer out a compromise. Our aim is the national interest, and when the national inter- est comes first, it is natural to work with all the Maltese political forces, including the Labour Party." Cassola reiterated AD's proposal on the elec- tion of the next President of Malta when Eddie Fenech Adami's term expires in April 2009. "I believe in respect to the election of the President of Malta in nine months' time, we should not procrastinate till the customary one to two months to start with the public debate. .... The new Labour leader said that AD's pro- posal on the fuel surcharge was a good basis for the policy discussion which the Labour Party would be conducting internally in the coming weeks. It was a complete 360 degree turn for Toni Abela, one of the founders of Alternattiva Demokratika (AD) in 1989, who had since returned to the Labour fold with all his might and had recently been appointed Deputy Lead- er for Party Affairs MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week All the President's misgivings IN an unprecedented move last Thursday, Presi- dent Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca signed the in- vitro fertilisation act into Law 'under protest': clearly indicating that she did so despite having serious personal misgivings about the Bill ap- proved by Parliament. An unusually personal statement issued by the Office of the President said that "after seeking ethical, moral and legal advice from several ex- perts in the field and following a long period of reflection and personal discernment, I have tak- en the decision to sign the Act". Without hiding her personal objections to the law, Coleiro Preca said she was signing it "solely out of respect and loyalty" to the country's democratic process and to the Constitution. This is anomalous for a number of reasons, and none of them have much to do with the issue under scrutiny – assisted reproduction, with particular reference to embryo freezing – or even with the President's private opinions or moral qualms. The main cause for concern is, in fact, an apparent conflation of two very distinct issues: the President's Constitutional role within the legislative process, and the views of the per- son occupying that role. Article 72 of Malta's Constitution is very clear on the former point: "The power of Parliament to make laws shall be exercised by Bills passed by the House of Representatives and assented to by the President"; and "when a Bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall without delay signify that he assents". This leaves little room for the secondary concern... but not no room at all. Although the Constitution makes it clear that the President of Malta must "assent without delay", she could – as Coleiro Preca said was an option she had forgone – absent herself from the island on an overseas trip to coincide with the signing of the Bill. The Bill would then end up on the acting president's desk. That would be the ideal solution for a presi- dent with moral qualms about a law, but who still does not want to impede the necessary dem- ocratic process for laws to be passed by MPs. Other than that, the only other option is for the President to refuse to endorse the law and resign, paving the way for the election of a new head of state by a simple majority in the House. This is another option the President chose to forego, signalling to the entire population that she is performing her constitutional duties without the usual serenity that might otherwise characterise her role. Refusing to sign the law would have been a breach of the Constitution, and therefore illegal – prompting a constitu- tional crisis. In such a hypothetical scenario, this kind of unilateral action could conceivably prompt a tug-of-war with the government, in the sense that – in a bid to avoid the crisis – the Presi- dent's refusal to sign the law could have forced the government to repeal the law altogether. One cannot overstate the danger in such a scenario: Parliament is democratically elected to legislate, but Presidents are de facto appointed by the government of the day. It would be a gross distortion of democracy, for the govern- ment to be held hostage by the incumbent Presi- dent's moral sensitivities. In this sense, the President's statement this week was a reminder of how Marie Louise Colei- ro Preca views, not just her constitutional role but also her own persona: in being accommo- dating to pro-life groups she has come to enjoy the political strength that her role, as one which serves to unite the public, can play... but doesn't, in Malta's Constitutional set-up. To be fair, Coleiro Preca stopped short of this... and on other occasions has also used the strength of her office for commendable causes: to make the emarginated visible, and to deliver strong messages of popular solidarity. Nota- ble among these were her professed solidarity for migrant workers and asylum seekers, her repeated warnings that Malta's environmental sustainability is at risk due to years of unbridled development; and most importantly, her Repub- lic Day speech in which she warned of the abuse of freedom of expression by partisanship and fake news: "It is morally and ethically unaccepta- ble, that sections of the traditional media, as well as bloggers and individuals, make use of social media, to attack the private lives of persons, and their family, even those in public life, to appease some people and generate hate amongst us." Having said this, it is clear to everyone that while the President is entitled to make her views known in the appropriate fora, her constitu- tional role in signing laws should be carried out with the gravitas the office demands. That her views on a subject are known is by no means the controversial aspect of her statement this week; what makes her action questionable is that she infused an element of doubt, motivated by her personal beliefs, into the democratic process of legislation. If every law of the country had to carry with it a statement of perceived dissent from the Head of State, the entire legislature would be instantly put in doubt. At such a juncture, the President should be drawing a clear delineation between her public statements, and how she carries out her consti- tutional duties. Editorial "It is useless blaming trappers… this is a case against Malta and we should be dis- cussing ways in which trapping can continue in a sustainable manner" Opposition leader Adrian Delia If every law of the country had to carry with it a statement of per- ceived dissent from the Head of State, the entire legislature would be instantly put in doubt