President George Vella’s words on Republic Day have the potential to provide the country with a reference point in the current crisis and its immediate aftermath.
The crisis will prevail so long as Joseph Muscat stays on as prime minister. He caused it himself by his refusal to assume full responsibility for the irretrievable loss of trust suffered by his office as a result of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation.
In a month’s time, Muscat will relinquish the reins and the search for normalcy and higher standards of governance, fraught as it will be, can be embarked upon in earnest.
Meanwhile, Malta is adrift. It needs both an anchor and a direction. It needs hope that it can pull itself soon out of this political and reputational morass. The president, being above the political fray, is the only figure who can provide that sort of rallying point for the nation. His speech on Friday was a valiant attempt to do so.
Some serious doubts have been cast on whether he has done enough, under the Constitution, to attempt a resolution to the crisis.
The reference he made to the exercise of his “many obligations and responsibilities” carried out in “utmost confidentiality and prudence”, may not have been enough to put his detractors’ minds at rest.
He mentioned he was attending to the need for constitutional reform. Given the apparent lack of clarity about his precise role in this crisis, one institution that ought to be reviewed and strengthened is the Office of the President itself.
However, Dr Vella did rise to the occasion presented by the Republic Day speech. First, he managed to reflect public sentiment, certainly of the many who feel “sadness, hurt and shock” and “anxiety and uncertainty” at the situation. He said it was not enough to be sorry for the horrendous assassination. “Our duty is to ensure that this anguish leads to the discovery and outing of the whole truth. All those involved, high and low, have to carry the burden of their responsibility and pay their dues.”
The people, he said, expect justice to be done and seen to be done – heartening words for the protesters, whose right to be on the streets he upheld.
In throwing his moral authority behind their demands, the president pointed the next prime minister in the direction of national recovery. When they’re done cavorting for the cameras with Muscat, Chris Fearne and Robert Abela must lay out concretely how they would answer the president’s call for all those with political responsibilities “to place the national interest before the personal one” and strengthen the institutions so that these can, as the president urged, “work without any interference”.
To be heeded equally is his call to the people for “moderation and control of tempers” and not to allow feelings of revenge and hatred to take hold. His call for unity was meaningful, revolving around the hope that responsibilities will be borne and consequences paid for by “whoever this may be”. Together, he said, “we need to mend what has been broken and reconstruct what has collapsed. We need to build our country anew”.
“I am convinced we will make it,” he added. His confidence in the nation’s ability to get through this is shared by Times of Malta, especially if his message is grasped by all.