Too many presidents of the republic throughout our history were conspicuously silent. Many chose to put themselves in a straitjacket, shackled to a certain extent by the remit of their office. Others only spoke in comfort zones related to their political field of work. Some allowed themselves to be gagged as Malta burned.
Myriam Spiteri Debono’s inauguration speech last Thursday indicates a somewhat different presidency this time around, offering hope to a country starved of authentic leadership.
Politics in Malta cannot remain a dirty term. It needs to inspire hope and lead to more public engagement, because without the voice of moderates we will be paving the road for extremists.
Our head of state appears to challenge the narrative of inertia and seems prepared to wield the presidency as a platform for genuine advocacy. And the subjects she highlighted in her speech were brave.
As most political leaders fall over each other to quash migrant rights and to treat them as mere commodities, the new president promoted empathy, emphasising the need for genuine inclusivity.
Our head of state appears to challenge the narrative of inertia and seems prepared to wield the presidency as a platform for genuine advocacy
“We have to rise above an unwilling acceptance because we need their presence and input,” she said.
She raised other important issues, from education to literacy to mental health and caring for the environment.
Spiteri Debono also tackled the elephant in Malta’s room: financial greed and its corrosive impact on society.
“The relentless pursuit of riches, more often than not, translates itself into various forms of corruption; the pursuer becomes indifferent to the suffering he may directly or indirectly cause others. It is worse than substance addiction, which, in the perception of the majority of people, is the worst addiction one can suffer from. The drug addict, mainly, harms himself; greed harms the whole of society.”
Her unequivocal denouncement of corruption as a by-product of unchecked avarice strikes at the heart of Malta’s potentially most pressing issue.
Greed has destroyed values and sold Malta to the highest bidder. Greed is eclipsing our natural environment and history. Greed is making a mockery of our financial institutions. Greed leads to human exploitation. Greed killed Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Spiteri Debono also pointed out the fact that public inquiries become a useless exercise unless they are acted upon, specifically citing the recommendations made by the public inquiry into the assassination of Caruana Galizia.
This led her to acknowledge the importance of the media as the fourth pillar of democracy: “The media is the voice of the people. It acts as the messenger of people’s sentiments, and has the duty to air and disseminate the voices of the minorities.”
Those words probably did not resonate well with the prime minister and many of his ministers who portray the media as an inconvenient reality at best, and at worst, as ‘the enemy’.
Instead of dismissing the murder of Caruana Galizia as a dark chapter best forgotten, Spiteri Debono urged the country to deal with it head on.
“Healing is a must so that this horrendous episode be wound up. Once and for all. Otherwise, we cannot move forward. Otherwise, its fallout shall continue to haunt us,” she warned.
By pointing out the public’s right to protest, Spiteri Debono also acknowledged one of the strongest tools of democracy. Those words should empower citizens who feel public protest is the only thing they can resort to in a country where the institutions often work against the public interest.
Of course, Spiteri Debono’s term is still in its infancy. We have seen many leaders get into office with many pledges and platitudes and leave with no remarkable achievements, or worse, doing the opposite of what they pledged. We can only hope Spiteri Debono will break this trend.