Missionary position? It’s not for Presidents

H.E. the President of the Republic Dr George Abela is still in time to cancel his ill-advised charity trip to Peru, in the light of what now looks like a distinctly possible Constitutional crisis erupting while he is away.

While he's at it, he also may wish to question the wisdom of whoever advised him to go off on such an unlikely caper in the first place, at a time when there are urgent political issues smouldering beneath the surface right here on his own doorstep.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister hinted at 'important decisions' to be taken this Thursday (i.e. the day after Abela's presidential plane takes off for Peru). For all we know, a snap election may be among those decisions; but even in the much likelier scenario in which three MPs are expelled from the PN, the outcome will still be more or less the same.

Now, I ask you: is this a good time for the President of the Republic to go gallivanting off to do missionary work on the clean other side of the globe? I, for one, think not.

Even without all the political hullabaloo in the background, it remains unclear what purpose this whole business was originally supposed to serve. If Dr Abela's newfound missionary zeal is fuelled by genuine concern for the underprivileged - and I don't doubt that for a second - well, why go all the way to Peru? It's not as though you have to live in a hut made from llama excrement to qualify as 'poor', you know. I would have thought there was poverty and squalor enough in Malta, too.

More to the point: why go at all? My guess is that Dr Abela will have thought (or been advised) that the symbolic gesture of a Head of State wading knee-deep into the dregs of human misery would be construed as a shining example of Christian altruism - the equivalent of Christ Himself washing his disciple's feet, etc.

If so... well, yes, I can see how some people might warm to the general idea. But there is a small snag. Dr George Abela is not the Messiah. He is the President of the Republic of Malta; and that post brings with it certain responsibilities and obligations that Messiahs can conveniently ignore.

A President cannot, for instance, simply shoot his mouth off and say whatever he likes in any given situation. As an embodiment of the Republic and a guardian of the Constitution, there are automatic limits on what he can and cannot say or... do.

I am sorry to have to add this but Dr George Abela seems unaware of this particular aspect of his role. He demonstrated as much quite recently, when he chose to publicly align himself with one dominant viewpoint to the exclusion of all minorities. (His precise words were "I cannot be everybody's President" - when the very nature of the job demands that he acts precisely as a representative figurehead for ALL  citizens of this country, and not just the ones with whom he happens to see eye to eye.)

At a glance these two issues may appear unrelated, but that they are different facets of the same underlying issue. Basically, there is (or should be) a clear distinction between what George Abela thinks, believes, aspires to and does in his private capacity as a human being... and on the other hand, how his role as President obliges him to act in specific circumstances.

Missionary work in Peru is the sort of thing one might expect from George Abela the private citizen who has no State obligations at all. There will, in fact, plenty of time for Dr Abela to fulfil this lifelong ambition of his... after his term of office is over.

But to rush off precisely now - with the proverbial excrement about to hit the fan, as it were - is not only to compound the impression that our President is several light years away from the true problems and issues facing the country... it also creates monumental headaches for his staff, and places undue strain on the country's resources to boot.

Out of curiosity, did any of his advisers inform the President what this trip actually entails from a logistical and security perspective? Has it crossed anyone's mind that the (admittedly remote) possibility of something serious happening to Dr Abela while he is away would pose unprecedented diplomatic and political problems?

For the sizeable Maltese security detail that shall accompany Dr Abela, this prospect is little short of a waking, living nightmare. Providing Presidential security here in Malta is one thing. But in Peru? The logistical challenges quite frankly unprecedented; and while I am aware that it's not exactly kosher to openly criticise what is (I suppose) a well-meaning initiative... I have to say it is remarkably short-sighted of the President to saddle his own office with so many burdens and unreasonable responsibilities, for what is ultimately an entirely private and personal endeavour. 

What will it take for this simple fact to finally sink in, I wonder? The undignified sight of the same President having to cut short his trip - apologising to the Peruvian governement for the inconvenience - to rush back to Malta in time to oversee a Constitutional crisis?

I suppose we'll find out soon enough.