President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca did not attend last Sunday’s canonisation ceremony at the Vatican because of “high-level” migration talks held at San Anton Palace. According to the Office of the President, these important meetings, which started on Sunday evening, “could not be postponed.”

This explanation, however, leads to more questions than answers. For one, the important meetings that forced President Marie Louise Coleiro to cancel her Vatican seem to have cropped up at the very last minute. They were certainly not mentioned in the official President’s weekly engagements list, published by the Department of Information, which clearly said that Ms Coleiro Preca – who was to be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella – was to fly out to Rome on Saturday and return on Sunday.

No reason was given as to why these meetings “could not be postponed”, so it is difficult to understand how the OPR came to the conclusion that they were more important than the Vatican ceremony – which was attended by nearly 100 heads of state, including kings and queens, and their respective delegations. 

Indeed, one would have expected the President to ask for the migration meetings to start at a later stage, so that she could attend the ceremony, like many of her international counterparts did.

The Malta Independent is informed that Mrs Coleiro Preca cancelled her participation at least on Wednesday evening, according to the Vatican’s official list, which on 24 April (Thursday) listed “Anglu Farrugia, President of the Maltese Parliament”, as head of the Maltese delegation.

Hotel charges between €300 and €5,000 per night

The President’s husband, Mr Edgar Preca was at first still going to attend the ceremony on his own. He seems to have changed his mind some time during the week, however, and was even seen at the Valletta vs Birkirkara decider match at Ta’ Qali on Saturday afternoon. This paper is also informed that the President and her husband were scheduled to stay at the Palazzo Monte Martini hotel in Rome, which charges anything between €300 and €5,000 per night.

It must be recalled that Mr Preca is related to Saint George Preca, the first Maltese to be declared a saint, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001 and canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.

An OPR spokesperson told this paper that the UNHCR/IOM delegation arrived at San Anton early on Sunday afternoon and that preparations were underway for further meetings, but it is understood that Mrs Coleiro Preca officially addressed the event on Monday morning. In fact, her speech was released by the DOI on Monday afternoon.

Air Malta operated a 7.30pm flight from Rome, which normally takes around 45 minutes. If the President had boarded this flight, she could have landed in Malta by 8.30pm. This paper is informed that there were some 10 vacant seats in club class. Many Maltese who attended the ceremony took this flight back to Malta.

In an interview published elsewhere on this newspaper today, Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna said that “it would have been a fitting tribute to see Ms Coleiro Preca at the canonisation ceremony because both popes are linked to Maltese history.” John XXIII was the first Pope to deliver a Papal message to the Maltese in 1960 while John Paul II was the first Pope to visit Malta and beatified three Maltese – Saint George Preca, Adeodata Pisani and Nazju Falzon.

The Office of the President did say that it is preparing for a meeting between Mrs Coleiro Preca and Pope Francis, during which migration is expected to be discussed.

PM says government attended, protocol says it did not

Apart from the explanation given by the Office of the President, that given by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday is equally confusing.

Speaking in Mosta, Dr Muscat rejected claims that the government did not attend the ceremony and insisted that the Maltese government was “totally represented” at the Vatican. “The government was represented by Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia and my wife,” said Dr Muscat, noting that the government had also invited the Opposition to attend. Dr Muscat said that it was normal for his wife to represent him and claimed that this practice is followed in many other countries.

Sources said, however, that Dr Farrugia and Mrs Muscat “absolutely cannot” be considered as government representatives. “The Speaker holds a Parliamentary role, not an executive one. His position is politically neutral and he can only represent Parliament,” said one source. On the other hand, the Prime Minister’s wife does not hold an executive role, so she also cannot represent the government.  “We do not have a first lady, so no, Michelle Muscat cannot represent the government.”

The Vatican definitely showed a better grasp of what protocol is all about, as while Dr Farrugia was sat in the front rows, Mrs Muscat was seated way back among the distinguished guests, according to Maltese pilgrims who were in St Peter’s Square.

The Labour Party has remained totally silent on the issue, save for the fact that the canonisation ceremony was briefly mentioned in a press release issued on Sunday, castigating the PN for “breaking the agreement on the day of silence.” The parties had agreed not to hold any political activities on Sunday because of the canonisation, but the PN has conveniently argued that its Sunday activity was just a press conference, and not a public dialogue meeting.