Where some see unity, others detect conspiracy

People are undecided about which political party stands to gain most from the appointment of George Abela as President and, more importantly, whether this will be remembered as a victory for Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi or Labour leader Joseph Muscat.

The perspective of party politics dominated many of the comments on timesofmalta.com after the news that Dr Abela will become Malta's next President. But beyond the conspiracy theories, which are capturing the imagination of many commentators, many others are pleased that a politically unifying figure was chosen.

Joe Grima said Dr Abela was a "magnificent choice for President". He described him as a national unifier, loved and admired by both Labourites and Nationalists.

"I believe that Dr Abela has proven that he can be a man for all seasons and who can inspire confidence in all Maltese and Gozitans."

But Charles Sammut said this was just a typical "Machiavellian" move by the Nationalist Party.

"Dr Abela was the only person who could have led the Labour Party and helped it regain its credibility. That threat is now neutralised."

"By the stroke of a pen Dr Gonzi scooped away... the most moderate and respected voice in the Labour Party from Dr Muscat, who is left with Toni and Anġlu, Mr Alex and Mr Jason," Joe Vella said in agreement.

On the other hand, another commentator said this move was "another win for Dr Muscat."

"Government realised that arrogance is not the best way to lead our country especially with a wafer thin majority... Dr Muscat is showing his impeccable trait of political bargaining," Michael Cutajar said.

Meanwhile, many Nationalists were disappointed that the man chosen was not one of their own.

"Other people who have contributed to the country have been sidelined. Dr Abela was never in Parliament, never a Minister, and has always been an opportunist flirting here and there. This is not a good choice," said F. Muscat who described himself as a PN activist.

"As a member of the PN I feel betrayed! How can the PN not award Louis Galea and thank him for the wonderful job he did during all the past years... he holds Nationalist principles and values and not the socialist values that Dr Abela will be pushing down our throats. I think that this will be the Prime Minister's biggest mistake since he is already giving in to Dr Muscat's tactics," Sandro Farrugia argued.

"I hope this is a joke. I always voted for the PN because I hold the party's values. I expect the party I elected to appoint a President with those values, because they are the values of the majority. We, the majority, didn't vote for socialist values," Peter Cachia said, threatening not to vote in the upcoming EP election. "This is going to split our party in two!" he warned.

Another commenter, Manuel Micallef, thanked Dr Muscat, who he said "really changed the way politics are done in Malta."

"Dr Muscat is in a win-win situation.... This is a man with strong leadership skills, ability and charisma. He is setting the country's agenda and transforming the PL and working hard for what matters to the people," another commentator said.

But M. Psaila felt Dr Gonzi was the one who deserved such praise.

"Who would have ever thought that a Nationalist Prime Minister would nominate a former Labour deputy leader for the highest post in the country? What a breath of fresh air. Which goes to show how short sighted the Labour delegates were when they did not choose Dr Abela for MLP leader."

But some commentators were suspicious about the news.

"They took all us infidels for a jolly ride. The recent nominations of Lino Spiteri, Joe Borg and others were all a ploy to mislead us from the real choice," J. Mercieca said angrily.

"This is a win for Malta," a more optimistic commentator concluded.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com