Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil has thrown in a proposal that is set to create a debate as the country prepares to welcome its new President of the Republic.

In an interview in The Malta Independent on Sunday yesterday, he said he was ready to commit to nominating a President from the Labour camp when he becomes Prime Minister. But he made one condition – that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat nominates a person from the Nationalist camp as the new President who will replace George Abela when the latter’s term expires in April.

It is an intriguing suggestion, one that will no doubt create discussion at both ends of the political spectrum, irrespective of the fact that it will likely be turned down.

Because it is hard to imagine that Joseph Muscat will accept the suggestion. The last time Labour had the opportunity to nominate a Head of State was way back in 1982; since then, all five Presidents have been nominated by Nationalist governments. When in recent weeks there was speculation that the PM could be considering having someone with a Nationalist background as the new President, the feedback right from the grassroots up to the top echelons of the Labour Party was negative.

Likewise, it is hard to imagine that the PN structures will be behind Dr Busuttil on this suggestion. The nomination of Dr Abela – who previously held the post of PL deputy leader – did not go down well with PN diehards, and the speech the President delivered at the change of government (which was not his own writing) led to strong protests from the PN camp. Some still blame Lawrence Gonzi for changing the tradition five years ago by picking a PL-leaning figure to take on the role of President. The circumstances of the time, with the PN coming out of a wafer-thin victory at the 2008 election, are nowhere comparable to the present-day scenario, with Labour securing the largest ever election victory last March.

But Dr Busuttil’s suggestion has its value too, and it could turn out to be a cunning political move that will gain him and his party some leverage. This is because he must know that his proposal will not be taken up, and so his offer to nominate a PL-leaning President if he got the chance to do it as Prime Minister in five years’ time could be interpreted as a win-win proposal Dr Busuttil is making.

If Dr Muscat takes it up – which, we repeat, is highly unlikely – Dr Busuttil would have got what he wanted, although he would then have to stick to the commitment he has made. If, as is probable, Dr Muscat turns it down, Dr Busuttil can always go back to refer to this incident as having been an opportunity lost by the Labour government. If Dr Muscat ignores the suggestion, Dr Busuttil could always say that he had offered a hand of friendship on such a delicate, national issue but was rejected by the Prime Minister.