President Emeritus Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca concluded her Presidential term this week, but her work will live on in the history books. The Malta Independent on Sunday has sought the opinions of current and former newspaper editors, historians and people in the media for their opinion on how she will be remembered.

Sunday Times of Malta former Editor, Laurence Grech

Marie Louise Coleiro Preca had been fulfilling her dream role as Minister responsible for the family and social services for barely a year when she was chosen by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to succeed George Abela as President of the Republic in April 2014.

She would probably have preferred overseeing the social welfare system to ensure that the least privileged members of our society – whether low-income earners, those with disabilities, pensioners and the underprivileged in general – get their fair share of social benefits to enable them to live without undue hardship or disadvantage.

It was thus natural for Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca as President to be particularly sensitive to social welfare issues, helping people in need of specialised medical care, making it easier for the underprivileged to integrate in society, fostering the empowerment of children and young people and promoting dialogue in society, including inter-religious dialogue.

She found a perfect vehicle to pursue these aims in the Malta Community Chest Fund and was no doubt delighted and grateful to the generous people of Malta when her fund-raising efforts resulted in the collection of record-breaking amounts of money every year.

On the other hand, her drive in this regard attracted some criticism that the Maltese Head of State should not be unduly concerned with fund-raising efforts, no matter how noble the cause. The regrettable Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina incident of 2015, in which several people were injured, undoubtedly fuelled such criticism.

But the truth is that the outgoing President’s enthusiasm to do good knows no bounds. A look at her weekly diary, with up to 12 engagements in a single day, is proof enough of this. Her social welfare objectives apart – within the limited constitutional powers of the Presidency – she has encouraged culture, international dialogue and has sought to bridge the political divide by constantly invoking the values which unite us as a people.

Laurence Grech was editor of The Sunday Times of Malta from 1991 to 2007.

Historian Henry Frendo

I think her heart was in the right place. She matured considerably from being the Secretary-General of the Labour Party to becoming the President of Malta.

President elect Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca went out of her way not to be partisan, and to behave like a ‘bonus pater familias’, as the Latin saying goes.

On the whole, she had a good record. She found it difficult to detach herself from her previous ministerial duties which related to family issues and social wellbeing, about which she obviously felt strongly. She tried to create her own structures but it remains to be seen whether or not they will last beyond her time.

Regarding the Malta Community Chest Fund, some people saw her primarily as a fund-raiser for charity – which, to some extent, she was. There is a state to which we pay taxes for social relief and welfare. But on the other hand, I had a friend who had cancer and needed some very expensive medication: Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca called him personally. There is a humanity there which should definitely not be dismissed. She had a strong moral sense which is needed in a society that is increasingly more materialistic, consumerist and fragmented.

Henry Frendo is a renowned historian

 

In-Nazzion Editor Joe Cassar

The last time I met President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was during a social activity towards the end of her Presidency. She came up to me and told me she wanted to apologise. This surprised me for a moment and I thought that she  confused me with someone else. An apology for what? She asked me to forgive her for the number of times she would call – even early in the morning – to speak with my partner, Marica Mizzi, in connection to her work with Caritas Malta.

I told her that not only was there no need for her to apologise, but that my admiration for her grew with every phone call she made to Marica. Every time she called, without exception, she did so to help someone – maybe a young person who was going through drug problems, or a mother or father suffering the consequences of their child falling victim to this addiction or gambling or alcohol problems.

In the limited executive powers that the Constitution provides to the highest position in the Maltese State, this was something she took upon herself in her five years as President: to see what she could do to help vulnerable people, people suffering injustice, those in poverty or at risk of poverty, those who are excluded by society and are pushed aside as the state aid systems to not reach them, those who are suffering from a serious illness.

In her long days of work, people and families in the above circumstances were always on her mind.

What others did not let her do with the Ministerial powers she had, she saw how to do it from San Anton Palace through the power of love.

When I look back, I think about how wise the PN was that, without any precedent, it voted in favour of her appointment despite the lack of consultation with government: a story that has been repeated this week with the similarities surrounding the appointment of George Vella as her successor.

The five years of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca as President have passed, but her legacy will continue to benefit others through the number of initiatives she took which, in the word count I was requested to keep to, are so many that I cannot even begin to list them all.

Editor of In-Nazzion Joe Cassar

l-orizzont former editor Frans Ghirxi

In my opinion, President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca put the Presidency into the hands of the people.

Through a number of continuous initiatives, she managed to encourage people to talk about the Presidency. She brought to the public’s attention the most vulnerable in society, the people who are – for some reason or another – are marginalised by society, those who were feeling that they did not have a voice, that nobody listened to them.

She did not do this only with Maltese and Gozitans, but even with migrants who came to Malta, not always of their own will.

For President Emeritus Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, those suffering, the vulnerable, the sick, the welfare of children, were a part of her and they did not end up like that just over the past five years or throughout her Presidency. She has been that way since she was young. She was that way before being elected to Parliament in the name of the Labour Party through a massive and strong vote. She has been that way since she began working within the Labour Party.

From that position she did all she could so that the Labour Party would continue working on these sectors.

The social sector is close to President Emeritus Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca’s heart and we saw this in the short term she served as the Minister responsible for that sector. She carried it with her to the Presidential Palace and continued working on it, and rendering justice.

In my opinion, her legacy is a reflection of her determination to ensure that no person falls behind. She was a President of the people, for the people.

Former l-orizzont editor Frans Ghirxi

 

University Pro Rector Carmen Sammut

Over the past 45 years, San Anton Palace has become a veritable oasis of calm and sobriety in the midst of a highly polarised environment, where political tactics are often divisive and messy. It amazes me how a succession of experienced politicians who were approaching the end of a political life spent fighting and sabre-rattling, suddenly succeed in re-inventing themselves as solid, unifying national figures and Heads of State of the Republic.

When our ninth President of the Republic, Marie Louis Coleiro Preca, was appointed at a relatively young age, she maintained this tradition, while she intensified her life-long mission to keep close to the people who constitute various sectors of society. Under her tenure, the Foundation for the Well-Being of Society sought to acknowledge people’s needs and desires, and aimed to advance social change and transformation.

The President Emeritus is likely to pursue this much-needed role, possibly providing unifying platforms for civil society actors. Civil society action is crucial in contemporary times but it is often marred by fragmentation and overlap, along with strained resources. As a result. there are not many examples of coordinated efforts that require crucial long-term strategies for positive and meaningful outcomes.

Marie Louise Coleiro Preca’s respected role will hopefully serve as a beacon for civil society players in their vital role that breathes life into an inclusive democratic society.

Professor Carmen Sammut is a Pro-rector at the University of Malta and also lectures in media studies