Opposition Leader presses for new Chief Justice appointment

Opposition leader Alex Borg on Saturday called for the appointment of a new Chief Justice, saying the country could not remain in limbo over the matter.

Speaking on a radio interview, Borg said that discussions with the Prime Minister needed to continue in order for a new Chief Justice to be appointed.

“We cannot keep sitting in limbo without a new Chief Justice in post. It is a matter that is imminent, and we need to sort it out because in the end, without it, we cannot move forward,” he said.

Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti has stayed on beyond his returement age since February after the government and Opposition failed to come to terms on the nomination of his successor. The appointment of a Chief Justice requires a two-third majority approval in Parliament.

Borg said he had submitted four names to Prime Minister Robert Abela for consideration but he had not sought to impose a particular candidate on the Prime Minister and remained available for further discussions on the appointment.

The current Chief Justice has had his term extended rather than being replaced, with Borg arguing that the process for appointing a successor could no longer be put off.

The PN leader also raised concerns about criminal cases which had not been pursued, saying the public should be given an explanation as to why certain cases had remained unresolved.

“There are serious cases in our country that if they haven’t been pursued, people need to know if they weren’t pursued by choice or because there was interference,” he said.

Borg said some cases had remained “on the shelf” for a considerable period of time, while others could no longer be pursued because they had become prescribed.

He also reflected on his first year as PN leader, saying the experience had allowed him to learn and mature both politically and personally.

He said the Nationalist Party needed to rebuild public confidence in politics and understand why some voters had opted for other parties or had stayed away from the polls.

Borg said discussions with young people had shown that some were considering leaving Malta because of concerns about their quality of life and the mental pressure they were experiencing, rather than because they did not care about the country.

On the public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Borg said the government needed to implement its recommendations, arguing that too much time had already passed without the necessary reforms being carried out.

“We cannot keep playing around with this the way the government is playing with it,” he said.

Borg also called for stronger protections for journalists and said the media and journalists should have a role in regulating their own profession.

He warned against the possibility of decisions concerning warrants being placed in the hands of a government agency, saying this would be a serious development.

“The worst thing that could happen is if warrant decisions end up in the hands of a government agency,” he said.

On the PN’s finances, Borg said the party had managed to break even during the last general election campaign for the first time in its history, meaning that the campaign had not added to its existing debt.

He said the party had also begun making greater commercial use of assets that had previously remained dormant as part of its efforts to reduce its debt. Among the examples he cited was a large PN club in Rabat which, he said, had not previously been rented out.

Borg was also critical of the Planning Authority, arguing that it was concentrating on issuing development permits rather than properly planning Malta’s future development.

“We have a permitting authority that issues permit like pastries. There is no actual planning happening,” he said.

He called for stronger planning rules and higher standards governing the appearance and design of buildings.

Road safety and traffic were also raised during the interview, with Borg saying Malta lacked a clear plan for dealing with increasing congestion.

He argued that the country needed a credible alternative to reliance on private cars, including an efficient mass-transport system.

Borg said improving public transport would be an important part of providing people with an alternative to using their cars and addressing some of the pressures created by Malta’s growing traffic problem.

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