Give civil society more space, President tells politicians

President George Abela this morning urged political parties to include a chapter on civil societyin their election manifestos. He was speaking in the presence of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonziduring the customary exchange of New Year’s greetings with the country’s highest authorities.In a passionate tone Dr Abela said the country had to create “the space for civil society to workin”, hinting that it should also be involved in constitutional reform. “Civil society was mobilizedduring the divorce campaign, the l-Istrina fund raiser and by the political parties. Civil society isa force to be reckoned with,” Dr Abela said. When meeting Speaker Michael Frendo and MPs,the president explained the reasoning behind his protracted deliberation on the Prime Minister’srequest to dissolve Parliament earlier this month. “In my limited function I felt I had to consultwith the Speaker as the head of the House of Representatives. It was a small gesture thatreinforced my belief in an autonomous Parliament,” Dr Abela said. On the eve of an electioncampaign, Dr Abela called on politicians to keep in mind the day after the election result is out.“At the end of it all there must only be one…timesofmalta.com

http://www.allplacedout.com/give-civil-society-more-space-president-tells-politicians/

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