George Vella’s nomination a ‘missed opportunity’ to return credibility to institutions – PN

The Prime Minister’s nomination of former Labour minister George Vella as the next President of the Republic is a missed opportunity in returning credibility to the country’s institutions, the Nationalist Party said on Tuesday.

In a reaction to the announcement that Vella would be the country’s 10th President, the PN said the Prime Minister wasn’t “capable of resisting internal partisan pressure for him not to nominate someone from the opposing political camp or someone that enjoys the confidence of a two-thirds parliamentary majority”.

“This when considering that there was more than enough time for this to be done,” the PN said, adding that a more unifying figure would have been “the first clear step that shows that the Government wants to enact serious change that give credibility back to the country and its institutions”.

The PN said that in addition to having missed an opportunity for more national unity, it was also a missed opportunity to have a greater balance of power and safeguarding of the constitution and the institutions as recommended by the Venice Commission.

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“The PN has already proposed that the Venice Commission’s recommendations be immediately implemented in full in order to assure the independence of the country’s institutions and for these same institutions to truly serve citizens, rather than being used in a manner which suits the government,” read the statement.

The party said that it had recommended that a president with a two-thirds majority have the final say in instances where there is a lack of agreement in parliament regarding the appointment of commissions and constitutional authorities.

“This would have reduced the excessive power the Prime Minister has, as declared by the Venice Commission itself,” the PN said.