Guido de Marco’s legacy

Guido de Marco was a pillar of the modern Nationalist Party who contributed greatly to the strengthening of Maltese democracy and to Malta joining the European Union.

He served as an MP for 33 years, played an important role in the fight for civil liberties during the PN’s difficult years in opposition and served as Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Foreign Minister and then President.

Although he was considered by many to be George Borg Olivier’s natural successor he was not elected party leader in 1977 and loyally served Eddie Fenech Adami as deputy leader for 22 years.

In fact, he formed part of a new team of Nationalists under Fenech Adami’s leadership – which included people such as Louis Galea, Ċensu Tabone, Ugo Mifsud Bonnici and George Bonello Du Puis – who transformed the PN into an all-inclusive people’s party which managed to attract considerable working class support.

During the pre-1987 period, de Marco played a leading role in the battle for the restoration of democracy in Malta. His charisma and oratory skills gave hope to thousands of people in the most difficult of times. A brilliant criminal lawyer, he would often defend victims of police ill-treatment and was instrumental in getting Pietru Pawl Busuttil, who was framed by police over the murder of Raymond Caruana, acquitted.

Although de Marco initially had a reputation for being a hardliner, he possessed an incredible ability to reach across the political divide in an attempt to seek common ground and reach consensus. This skill served him well during the 1981-1987 period when he played an important role in negotiating with the Labour Party, particularly Dom Mintoff, in a bid to solve Malta’s political crisis caused by the perverse 1981 election result.

When the PN was elected to office in 1987 – thanks to a majority rule constitutional clause which both he and Mintoff helped broker – de Marco was appointed Minister for Justice and Home Affairs.

Here he faced the very difficult task of winning over the loyalty of the police force – many of whom were loyal only to the Labour Party – coupled with the need to weed out the rotten elements within the corps and at the same time have a force able to maintain law and order.

Some dismissals were made and de Marco received his fair share of criticism for not going far enough in purging the police force. But he had to perform a delicate balancing act in a very complex situation.

De Marco was Malta’s Foreign Minister – the highlight of his career – between 1990 and 1996 and from 1998 to 1999. He always believed Malta’s rightful place was in the European family of nations – arguing that the Maltese should have the same rights as other EU citizens – and dedicated most of his career as Foreign Minister to Malta’s EU bid.

His dream of taking Malta into the EU, however, suffered a major setback when the PN lost the 1996 election and the incoming Labour government froze the country’s EU application.

During the PN’s 22-month stint in opposition, de Marco never gave up hope of Malta joining the EU, saying the party had to work hard to convince the then Labour government to change course.

Although Labour continued to oppose EU membership, the collapse of the government after less than two years in office allowed de Marco to reactivate Malta’s EU bid when he was re-appointed Foreign Minister in 1998.

De Marco was then faced with the tricky job of convincing EU governments and the European Commission that Malta was serious about wanting to join the EU.

He managed to do that, thanks largely to his determination and diplomatic skills, and the December 1999 EU summit in Helsinki agreed to open negotiation talks between Malta and the EU, although by that time de Marco was already President.

Although a committed European, de Marco was a strong believer in increased cooperation in the Mediterranean and strongly supported the Barcelona process.

He was keen on good relations with the Arab world and was very sympathetic towards the Palestinian cause. He was a strong believer in international law and multilateralism, and as President of the UN General Assembly in 1990-1991 he was particularly supportive of Kuwait when it was invaded and occupied by Iraq, something the Kuwaitis appreciate to this day.

The presence of the Kuwaiti Prime Minister at de Marco’s funeral last week is ample proof of this.

De Marco was very fond of Italy and never hesitated to stress that the Italians had always supported Malta’s EU bid. It was for this reason that as Foreign Minister de Marco had waited until the start of the Italian EU presidency, in July 1990, to submit Malta’s EU application.

He had extraordinarily good contacts within Italian political circles and spoke excellent Italian. I remember attending a reception in which an Italian diplomat gave a speech in good English. Replying, de Marco said: “You have addressed us in the language of Shakespeare. Now allow me to speak in the language of Dante,” and went on to give a speech in perfect Italian.

De Marco was keen that the PN should remain loyal to its Christian Democratic roots and on economic policy was never at ease with the party’s neo-liberal wing.

In his autobiography, The Politics of Persuasion, he wrote that he always believed the PN should be “un partito di centro che guarda la sinistra”. He was a strong believer in social justice and would often talk about his admiration for former French President François Mitterrand, a Socialist.

He was initially not keen on becoming President but soon learnt to relish the post of head of state, which he served from 1999 to 2004, when Malta joined the European Union.

As President, de Marco maintained an active interest in both domestic and international affairs and remained in close contact with all sectors of Maltese society.

He remained strongly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause during his presidency and it is said that during the Israeli siege of the Palestinian territories in 2002 he would call Yasser Arafat in Ramallah every day to offer his moral support.

De Marco was a charismatic and popular politician and President who earned the respect and admiration of his political opponents, and this is evidenced by the many tributes he received in the aftermath of his death.

He leaves a void in Maltese political life which will be difficult to fill.

Fr Peter Serracino Inglott’s column is not appearing this week.