President George Vella’s criticism of activist group Repubblika has not gone unnoticed, with both outspoken lawyer Franco Debono and former PN Leader Simon Busuttil coming out strongly against him.

“The President should not be getting into public squabbles with NGOs. It harms the dignity of his role. This is one of the thousands of reasons he should have never been the President to lead the reform (the fantasy) of constitutional reform,” Debono wrote on social media.

Repubblika has also come out and decried the President’s actions, insisting that he was lying by saying he had acknowledged their proposal for the reform, clarifying that since his swearing-in, their submissions and requests to meet are yet to be acknowledged.

Debono, a legal expert, was in charge of the constitutional convention after being appointed by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. However, Debono told Lovin Malta that this never materialised due to the “sheer egotism” of President Emeritus Marie Lousie Coleiro Preca.

“She wanted to head the Convention at all costs going so far as to self-announce herself as to be heading Convention even when her Presidency was over,” he said.

Speaking to the newsroom, Debono said:

“In June 2013 I had already formulated the terms of reference and composition of the constitutional convention and sent it to Muscat. It involved a wide spectrum of society.”

“If Muscat was serious about constitutional reform he would have started with the sale of citizenship – which citizenship, few have realised, is Chapter 3 of the constitution. Like so many things Muscat has done this us just another gimmick to divert attention from his grotesque and very serious problems.”

Beyond heading the constitutional convention, Debono has long called for reform. He was a key factor in the splitting up of the justice and the home affairs ministerial portfolios, and the introduction of the constitutional right of legal assistance for arrested persons.

He was influential in the party finance reform and was at one point leading the justice reform through www.riformagistozzja.com.

Busuttil has also caught onto the issue, writing a similar post decrying the President for harming the dignity of his office.

The @presidentmt should not be getting into public squabbles with a civil society organisation that is fighting for the #RuleOfLaw against all odds. It harms the dignity of his office. And he should be helping them, not attacking them. https://t.co/IXQfJ32n7F

— Simon Busuttil (@SimonBusuttil) 9 August 2019

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