Your editorial No breath of fresh air (TMID, 21 June) was a rehash of the comments made since the launch of Azzjoni Nazzjonali.

There was one point in that editorial however that I wish to address, and that is the issue of the presidency. No one with any shred of intelligence can fail to notice that the powers of the Prime Minister in this country have grown considerably. That there have been incumbents who have chosen to use such powers with discretion is beside the point. One day Malta may very well have an incumbent who might not.

Azzjoni Nazzjonali wishes to actually bring about a diffusion of those powers by changing the Office of the Head of State from a mere ceremonial position to one which rises above politics and becomes the guardian of the Constitution. That is a far cry from proposing a presidential system of politics.

It is for this reason that Azzjoni Nazzjonali is proposing that the President of Malta should be elected by the people for he will then be under no obligation to please those who nominated him. The recent performance of one man appointing another as President while he himself gets the premiership in return is hardly a model of good practice. Unfortunately we are probably doomed to see endless repeats of that act. Or has that already been forgotten by those who cherish the decentralisation of power?

Azzjoni Nazzjonali proposes that an elected head of state should nominate the boards, authorities, commissions, etc, to put an end once and for all to the widespread concerns regarding the influence of the political parties on such appointments. Is that such a bad idea?

One last question. Since when has the introduction of more checks and balances been inimical to the principles of decentralisation?

Josie Muscat

Azzjoni Nazzjonali