The times are a-changin’

Eddie Fenech Adami heralded a free-market drive that further contributed to the deterioration of the Catholic values he holds dear. JAMES DEBONO catches up with the President, who wants to see the Constitution give more power to the presidency to send back laws for review

The man who battled for democracy, human rights and Europe now sounds impatient in his role as President of the Republic. After making history for the past three decades, Eddie Fenech Adami has found himself occupying a largely ceremonial role mostly restricted to organising charity events. But given the chance to talk about the things that matter Eddie seems to have returned to his true self. And now its official: we can now refer to him as Eddie again.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Fenech Adami went as far as calling for a stronger Presidency, proposing a change in the Constitution to enable the President to send back to parliament legislation he or she disagrees with, referring to legislation concerning “fundamental issues” and “questions of values”.
MaltaToday caught up with the President and asked him to elaborate on which questions of “values” and “fundamental issues” he was referring to.
“To my mind a President of Malta would find it difficult to assent to legislation which, for example would, in his judgment, violate a fundamental right, say freedom of expression, freedom of conscience or the right to life,” Fenech Adami says, citing the clamorous case of the King of Belgium who refused to sign into law legislation on abortion. On that occasion a unique way out was found through technical ‘abdication’.
Fenech Adami seems to favour an Italian solution to this problem. “In Italy it has happened relatively frequently that the President requests a review by Parliament of legislation which in his view contradicted or placed in doubt Constitutional principles.”
Asked directly whether he would sign a divorce bill, Eddie Fenech Adami evades the question: “I am sure there is no chance that legislation to introduce divorce in Malta will be proposed in Parliament in the next four years. I will not, therefore, have to take a position during my presidency.” By completely ruling out the possibility that the Gonzi administration will introduce a divorce bill, Fenech Adami has stepped out of his Presidential shoes.
Divorce legislation might even be introduced through a private member’s bill and should one be presented, there is no way the President can know the outcome of a parliamentary free vote on this issue. A similar bill was presented to Parliament by Labour MP Joe Brincat prior to the 1996 election, although on this occasion his proposal was not discussed.
Considering that the last part of Eddie’s presidential term could coincide with an Alfred Sant-led government, the divorce bill problem might resurface again.
With his comment on divorce Eddie Fenech Adami seems to be forgetting he is no longer Prime Minister and for a moment, he gave the impression that he would like to step into Gonzi’s shoes.
Fenech Adami also tried the Bishops’ shoes for size. When asked whether it is time for two new bishops, Eddie Fenech Adami answered: “Well, I am 71; the archbishop and the bishop are 76 – there’s a time when one has to go. It seems that the Church recommends 75 as the retirement age for bishops.”
Fenech Adami, on the other hand, will fulfil a full five years as President after over three decades of active politics, 15 years of them as Prime Minster. His call for the bishops to call the movers seems uncalled for – by 2009, Fenech Adami would have been in the highest positions of the Maltese state for more than two decades.
Archbishop Joseph Mercieca reacted to the President’s declaration by saying that on reaching the age of 75 he had offered his resignation to the Holy Father as required by Canon Law. “It is solely up to the Holy Father to decide what should be done and when in the matter of the appointment of a successor. I submit myself, as always, to the will of the Holy Father.”
Eddie Fenech Adami has always projected himself as a custodian of Christian values. Ironically his constant appeal to traditional values contrasts with the liberalisation in the Maltese value system brought about by the economic and political liberalisation which characterised his years as Prime Minister
Surveys by sociologist Anthony Abela point towards a decline in religious values throughout his time as Prime Minister. In 1984, 95 per cent felt a strong sense of religious identity. By 1995 this percentage had dropped to 65 per cent.
Asked by MaltaToday whether he was responsible for unleashing a process which eroded moral values Eddie Fenech Adami replied that “there can be no doubt that, unfortunately, as a matter of fact the process of economic liberalisation and media pluralism have contributed to the erosion of traditional values. This does not mean that the process was wrong and that it had to be halted. It rather proves that for quite a few, adherence to principles was only skin deep. I think that the Church itself acknowledges that the faithful often gives lip service to their supposed beliefs.”
Eddie’s sane reasoning on economic liberalisation and media pluralism can also be applied to the divorce issue. If Catholic values are not just “skin deep”, divorce will only be used by a minority who do share these values.
And it should not be the concern of the state if adherence to principles is only skin deep. It did not stop Eddie from unleashing a process of liberalisation, which cannot be halted.
But Eddie Fenech Adami remains adamant: “divorce will not be introduced in the next four years,” and he will not face the embarrassment of signing or not signing a piece of legislation which is found in the legal codes of all the countries of the world with the exception of Malta and the Philippines.