George Vella 'hopes' that these are the last months of his presidency

“I hope so,” was President George Vella’s reply when questioned by radio host Andrew Azzopardi whether these were the last months of his presidency.

During an interview with Azzopardi on RTK103 on Saturday morning, President Vella explained that the Constitution does not allow for the President’s term to be extended for another five years.

He added that, however, due to the new two-thirds rule for the nomination, there is a provision that allows for a President to remain until a decision is reached on a successor.

“We should not appear in front of the world as a nation that can’t agree on a head of state,” Vella said.

He added that despite the argument many make that the President should not be a political person, he believes that political acumen is an essential asset for the role.

Asked about the crisis within the leadership of the Nationalist Party during Adrian Delia’s tenure, Vella said that he has the “personal and moral comfort” that he took the right decision when not removing Delia from leader of the party.

Azzopardi also brought up former disgraced Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, asking Vella about the turbulent times when the civil society’s protests led to Muscat’s resignation.

“I appreciated the fact that the civil society made its voice heard but I was worried about the civil unrest,” Vella said.

“Do you have any regrets for pushing Joseph Muscat?” Azzopardi asked. “For what I did no. I can’t say that I have regrets for pushing him – an intelligent and capable person, under whom a lot of good things were done. The evaluation of him is not up to me, however. I will not judge him myself although I do have my own opinions,” Vella said.

Abortion and the judiciary

“I was ready to resign, no doubt,” Vella said when asked about the period during which the amendments to the criminal code in relation to abortion were being discussed.

“I never made any public statements but everyone knew what my position was, including the government [...] I was not worried about leaving my post but about a potential Constitutional crisis if there was no President.”

Vella added that he’s happy that he played a vital role in the discussion and that he left his mark on the final amendments.

Vella spoke about the Venice Commission that had proposed significant legislation changes to Malta, including the appointments within judiciary bodies.

“I don’t think that the judiciary was ever as free as it is nowadays. There is currently an apolitical system that assesses and recommends individuals for positions within the judiciary and up till now no one has criticised any appointees.”

The President said he feels that the judiciary is, however, “burdened” with many “unfair” political elements in decisions that they have to make.

Vella also argued that the amount of work that the judiciary has is “excessive”.

Cannabis and Construction

Azzopardi questioned Vella on his signing of the cannabis legislation, with the President saying that he was and remains against the consumption of cannabis but that he is against the incarceration of youths who make use of it.

“I agree with the harm reduction approach. As a doctor, I spoke about the mental harm of cannabis but without the legislation, the operations would have been left underground with no regulation. In my conscience, I believe that a regulatory authority is beneficial.”

The President also addressed the population density and the construction boom.

He said that the current economic model was dependent on an “unhealthy” population density that puts a strain on education and healthcare.

Vella argued that the benefits of the construction industry towards the economy do not make up for the “enormous visual and environmental impact”.

“Construction in itself does not contribute much towards the Gross Domestic Product. Other industries that contribute much more in GDP terms, like iGaming barely make an impact on the country,” Vella said.

Isreal-Palestine war

Vella who is also a former Foreign Affairs Minister, said that the argument vis-a-vis the war between Israel and Palestine is dependant on which period one considers, as the start of the conflict.

“If you take October 7th as the start of all things, I outright condemn the atrocities committed by Hamas, who did not respect themselves or their own citizens. But I also condemn Israel’s excessive response,” Vella said.

“You can start from 1948 and speak about the Palestinians’ lack of rights and voices [...] Let’s make a distinction between Palestinians and the extremists like Hamas.”

Vella said he believes that European institutions should do more to solve the conflict.

“I believe that peace will never be achieved if the Palestinian rights are not granted.”