Malta’s next acting president is expected to be long-time Nationalist politician Francis Zammit Dimech, potentially sealing the first major political consensus between Robert Abela and Bernard Grech.

Sources close to the discussions told Times of Malta that after agreeing to appoint former Labour speaker Myriam Spiteri Debono as Malta’s next president, the prime minister and the opposition leader also reached a preliminary agreement to appoint Zammit Dimech as acting president.

The acting president assumes all the president’s duties whenever the president is abroad or in case she is unable to run her office due to health problems.

This is the first time that a prime minister and an opposition leader have agreed on both appointments simultaneously, in what Labour and PN party insiders are calling a “remarkable” show of goodwill from both leaders, “by showing they can cooperate maturely on matters of national unity”.

Agreement reached after weeks of indecision

After weeks of indecision, Abela and Grech managed to reach agreement in a relatively short period of negotiations and just in time before George Vella’s term ends the week after Easter.

It will only be a done deal, however, after both leaders meet with their respective parliamentary groups early this week and obtain their MPs’ approval on both appointments.

Should MPs give the green light, parliament is expected to approve Spiteri Debono’s appointment on Wednesday, just in time before Easter recess, and she will be sworn in as president the week after.

Unlike the president, the acting president does not need a two-thirds parliamentary majority, has no fixed term, takes an oath of office each time the president is out of the country or in hospital and has the power to fulfil all of the president’s duties, including attending official ceremonies and sign laws.

When contacted, Zammit Dimech, known as a political moderate, would not comment.

“I have no comment to make at this time. Any questions on the matter should be forwarded to the prime minister or the leader of the opposition,” he said.

This is the first time that a prime minister and an opposition leader have agreed on both appointments simultaneously, in what Labour and PN party insiders are calling a 'remarkable' show of goodwill from both leaders.

Zammit Dimech served as MP for 30 years

A lawyer by profession, Zammit Dimech served as an MP for 30 years between 1987 and 2017, 16 years of which he spent as minister for transport, communications, the environment, resources and infrastructure, tourism and culture during different periods of the Nationalist administration.

He served as foreign minister during the PN’s last year in government between 2012 and 2013 and was then elected as an MEP alongside Roberta Metsola and David Casa between 2017 and 2019.

Before entering politics, he worked as a lawyer and broadcaster and briefly worked as a parliamentary correspondent for Times of Malta.

Zammit Dimech is also a lecturer of broadcasting and media law at the University of Malta.

The current acting president is university pro-rector Frank Bezzina, who was appointed by the government less than two years ago, taking over from Dolores Cristina who had held the position for nine-and-a-half years.

Following changes to the constitution in 2020, Malta’s next president will have to be appointed by a majority of at least two-thirds of MPs.

All previous presidents only needed a simple majority after being proposed by the government.

The current acting president is university pro-rector Frank Bezzina, who was appointed by the government less than two years ago, taking over from Dolores Cristina who had held the position for nine-and-a-half years.

Talks were in limbo for weeks

Talks between the two country leaders were in limbo for weeks, until negotiations took a turn last month, after Grech informed Abela the opposition would block the appointment of any politician who sat in Joseph Muscat’s 2017 cabinet.

Opposition MPs agreed they would not support the nomination of any individual the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry found shared responsibility for the journalist’s murder.

This was arguably a victory for Grech and the PN, as it made it virtually impossible for any minister in Muscat’s cabinets to make it to San Anton Palace.

Times of Malta understands Abela and his parliamentary group were unhappy about the condition but found a solution in the appointment of Spiteri Debono.

Sources told Times of Malta earlier this week that Abela proposed her name to Grech on Wednesday, with the opposition leader indicating he would have no objection to the nominee, despite her Labour background.

The PN had already nominated Spiteri Debono, 71, for the standards commission job in January 2023, but she said she was not interested in the position.