The inability to find a president tells us a lot about our leaders’ political immaturity

We are just two weeks away from the end of George Vella’s term as president and the country is still in the dark as to who will replace him.

The Prime Minister and the Opposition leader have not yet agreed on a name, if indeed they are talking.

Vella has already made it amply clear in comments to the media that he will not stay on, which means that an acting president will have to be appointed pending a decision on his replacement.

The appointment of an acting president does not require parliamentary approval and if the Prime Minister foregoes the decision to appoint an acting president, the Constitution says that Speaker Anglu Farrugia will fulfil the presidential duties.

Under the new constitutional proviso that requires the president to be appointed by a two-thirds majority vote in parliament, an agreement, that crosses party lines, is a must.

Unfortunately, Robert Abela and Bernard Grech have so far failed to rise above petty partisan politics and agree on someone who can represent the country’s highest office.

Although this impasse is not a make or break for the running of this country it does create a reputational issue. Is this country so politically sick that finding someone who can represent the office of president with dignity is so hard to achieve?

Significantly, this impasse tells us a lot about the state of political maturity, or rather lack of, we expect from our leaders in making decisions that benefit the national interest.

This newspaper has many times tried to understand why people are switching off from politics; why they are feeling so dejected that they cannot be bothered to vote; why they snub politicians and political debate; why they adopt a cynical approach in the face of controversy.

The inability of politicians to rise above their pettiness as has happened so far with the appointment of a new president is probably one of the reasons for this rejection of politics. Politicians may collectively cry mea culpa, if ever they can find the humbleness to admit they are in the wrong.

Meanwhile, this country inches towards a state whereby no person will be in line to become president once Vella’s term ends on 4 April.

Whether this is the result of hard-headedness, intransigence, or the search for a perfect person is irrelevant. As things stand today, the situation is simply pathetic and a poor reflection of the state this country is in.

The introduction of the two-thirds majority was intended to imbue the president with moral authority because of the cross-party support. The problem is that without an anti-deadlock mechanism to resolve an impasse, the solution will be an acting president – a half-baked resolution.

This leader reiterates its stand that the time may have come to rethink how this country elects its president and opt for an election on the same lines as happens in Ireland and Austria.

In this way, the president is chosen by the people in a specific election that will have its own rules.

Having a president elected by the people does not necessarily require the role to be any different from how it is now. Indeed, in Ireland and Austria, the presidency is largely a ceremonial role that exerts moral authority and nothing more.

If politicians are unable to decide on names for whatever reason, they should leave that decision to the people.

Meanwhile, this leader can only hope that Robert Abela and Bernard Grech can sit down together and in a mature way agree on someone who will take on the role of president in two weeks’ time. It is the least this country expects from its leaders.