Tonio Borg writes:

The first time I came to know Lino Spiteri was when I was elected to Parliament in 1992. I admired his oratorical skills. Being the target, intended or unintended of his criticism, was not enjoyable at all. His wit, lucid mind and sharp tongue made any intervention of his worth listening to.

His pen was equally strong, analytical and sharp.

But he was never a slave to anyone or anything. His independent mind, even within the strict parameters of party loyalty, was always active, fertile and imaginative.

I remember him in the tortuous two years of the Sant government. He himself admitted that contesting an election with a party that was against VAT and member­ship of the EU was his greatest political blunder. And, yet, he had the courage, resilience and honesty to admit as much in later years.

His resignation, only a few months after Labour took office, and clear ad­mission that he voted in favour of EU membership and against a new Sant administration in 2003 reveal the mind of a politically honest person.

But his greatest merit in my view was his loyalty to his friends and colleagues, irrespective of their poli­tical hue. I distinctly remember him raising a point of order in the House, interrupting Prime Minister Alfred Sant’s speech, to defend the reputation of his friend Sammy Nicholl.

In the days preceding my hearing as European commissioner designate before the European Parliament in 2012, he penned an article in this newspaper defending my reputation and auguring that my nomination be approved – as it was.

I visited him at home a few months ago. He graciously received me but it was evident that his illness was inexorably gaining ground. Spiteri`s spirit was, however, still alive.

Spiteri belongs to that exclusive gallery of political giants who are remembered for the elegance of their thought and style. Its doors have become too narrow and only the fittest can squeeze through. Lino has made such an entrance effortlessly.

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