‘Respect for institutions depends on the behavior of the resident’s role’

Addressing the political class in her first Republic Day speech as President, President Myriam Spiteri Debono said, “Respect for institutions depends on behavior based on the role of residents.”

On the 50th anniversary of Malta becoming a republic, Spiteri Debono expressed concern about unethical behavior in public life, stressing the importance of honesty and integrity among MPs and public officials.

“Malta occasionally witnesses unethical behavior that is dishonest and unworthy of those charged with representing the people,” he said.

The President humorously noted the importance of the office of Standards Commissioner, “the less work the representatives of the people give to the Standards Commissioner, the more they deserve the title of Honorable Person.”

He expressed concern about the effectiveness of Parliament’s Standards Committee, noting that its members’ decisions were often influenced by party lines, giving the Speaker a deciding vote.

Spiteri Debono, who assumed this role here, questioned whether it was time to consider strengthening the role of the Speaker and the Parliament as a whole.

He also referred to sporadic debates focusing on whether MPs should work full-time and stated that there was nothing stopping them from keeping this debate within their own party or in Parliament.

President Spiteri Debono focused briefly on party financing, stating that “the financing of political parties has not yet been examined in depth so far.”

“I mentioned these two issues in the hope that they might help reduce certain behaviors that are not only shameful but also dangerous because they blur the strict dividing line between the power of money and the power of the people in the government of the country.”

In his speech, President Spiteri Debono emphasized the importance of implementing the recommendations from the two major public inquiries in Malta: the Sofia inquiry and the Caruana Galizia inquiry.

The President emphasized the need to implement the recommendations of the Sofia investigation and praised the progress made within the Ministry of Justice, but underlined that the implementation process must be fully completed to ensure that the lessons learned from the investigation lead to lasting reforms.

Similarly, the Caruana Galizia investigation highlighted the importance of the journalistic profession and its role in holding power to account. Spiteri Debono reiterated that discussions on the protection of journalists must continue and noted that the work of the Malta Institute of Journalists, which is on its way to becoming a union, could strengthen this vital aspect of democratic governance.

In both cases, the President called for concrete steps to be taken to follow up the findings of the investigations and stressed that the implementation of their recommendations was vital to improving the integrity of the justice system and strengthening freedom of the press in Malta.