Former prime minister Joseph Muscat on Tuesday refused to react to Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca’s claim that she learned she was going to be president from the news, arguing there was now “widespread consensus” that he had made the right choice.
“I respect that the president emeritus felt any discussions between the two of us should remain that way. I will do the same from my end,” he said in reply to questions from Times of Malta.
“I am totally satisfied that now there is widespread consensus that the choice of her as president was the right one and I am proud that I proposed her for this highest office.”
Coleiro Preca revealed this week that she learned she would become president of Malta while she happened to be watching the evening news bulletin while ironing clothes at the same time.
In a podcast with Jon Mallia, she revealed that the news was announced when she had still not accepted the nomination.
It was at a time when she was still in talks over the position and was insisting she did not want to be president.
Coleiro Preca became president in 2014, just over a year after Labour rose to power. As family and social solidarity minister, she had ranked among the most popular cabinet ministers.
Her appointment, therefore, caused critics to suspect that Muscat was trying to kick her upstairs to get her out of the way.
Her claim on the podcast further fuelled speculation that the news was announced to create public pressure that would force her into accepting the role.
No reply to questions
After the revelation was made public, Times of Malta asked Muscat to explain why the news was announced before Coleiro Preca had accepted the nomination, whether there was some sort of mistake or miscommunication between his office and PBS and whether he intervened in any way when the news came out prematurely.
He was also asked what reasons Coleiro Preca had given him for not wanting to take the job and to comment on speculation that his decision to appoint her was an elegant move to get her out of government’s way.
However, he did not reply to the questions, saying that he respects her wish for their private discussions to remain between them.
A 2010 proposal
Coleiro Preca's statement about her nomination drew a significant reaction within political circles, with lawyer and former MP Franco Debono among those to weigh in.
As a backbench MP, Debono had in 2010 proposed reforming the nomination presidents to require a two-thirds vote in parliament, with an anti-deadlock mechanism as a fallback.
"Had that proposed become law in 2010, as it did in 2020 under [former Justice Minister Edward] Zammit Lewis, then the government in 2014 would not have been able to unilaterally decide [on who to nominate as president], as it would have needed a two-thirds majority," Debono wrote.
"Unfortunately, our colonial mentality leads some to say that this was a 2019 Venice Commission proposal, instead of acknowledging that it came from a Maltese person, in Malta's parliament, in 2010/2011. This colonial mentality is ruining the country," he added.