Fifty long years have passed since the father of Malta’s Independence, former prime minister George Borg Olivier, ceremoniously received Malta’s new constitutional instruments from the hands of the UK’s Prince Philip.
Alex Borg Olivier, now 68, the eldest and only surviving of the three siblings of the late Prime Minister, recalls the occasion with nostalgia and extreme pride.
“I will never forget it,” he recounts.
“Together with my mother and sister I was sitting behind my father and the other dignitaries during the official ceremony when Malta became independent,” he said.
“My eyes were fixed on him and his every movement. I will never forget the smile on my father’s face on that day. He was the happiest man and this was the greatest day of his life. We felt at home, even though at the time we couldn’t understand it. We saw him as an accomplished man.”
Away from the official celebrations, Dr Borg Olivier remembers the long years before independence when his father had to fight and negotiate “almost singlehandedly” Malta’s quest for independence.
According to the former Prime Minister’s son, the independence project exposed his father’s leadership skills to turn Malta’s economy around and rebuild it from scratch.
“I still remember the long days he had to spend in London in 1962 to negotiate with the British. These negotiations almost drained him physically and also had an impact on his health problems later in his life.”
Alex, who in 1964 was just 18, vividly remembers the days he spent with his father at London’s Savoy Hotel in the summer of 1962 when Dr Borg Olivier officially asked the British government to fix a date for Malta’s independence.
“He had the foresight to choose the right moment in history. Many African countries were going to be given independence and Malta couldn’t miss the boat. My father had the vision at the times to seize the moment.”
Though half a century later everyone takes Malta’s independence for granted, it was a very different story in the early 1960s, just 15 years after the end of World War II.
“At times my father was completely alone, especially during the long stretches he spent in London away from Malta and his family,” Dr Borg Olivier recounted.
“He used to tell me that there were people in his own Cabinet who were not convinced it was the right time for Malta to get independence.”
Apart from Labour’s opposition after Dom Mintoff’s failed integration proposal, some in Dr Borg Olivier’s Nationalist Party were also afraid of the consequences of independence as they were comfortable with the relationship Malta had with the British.
“It took all my father’s leadership skills to carry the day forward. It showed his courage and determination to move on and realise his dream for Malta despite opposition from prominent members of his own party.”
Though Malta’s independence in 1964 was later criticised and almost rubbished by Mr Mintoff’s Labour governments in the following years – with critics dubbing it as a half-baked achievement – Alex Borg Olivier said his father’s idea was a very calculated one and designed to gather consensus in the country.
“Today it is easy to understand why certain models were chosen for Malta’s independence, such as that the island would still be part of the Commonwealth and that the British forces could stay a little longer in Malta.
“This was no coincidence,” he underlined.
“It was all designed to make sure that everyone was comfortable and that a transition would take place. He didn’t want any big shocks as many were still doubtful that Malta could not cope without the British.”
I am very proud of my father and his achievements – no one can take away from us
Following the success at the polls in 1962, when Dr Borg Olivier was once again Malta’s Prime Minister, he immediately embarked on achieving freedom from the British Empire.
However, Alex Borg Olivier still remembers his father’s other big achievement: fighting Mr Mintoff who wanted Malta to integrate with the UK in the 1950s.
“Mintoff tried to sell integration to the Maltese. One of my father’s greatest achievements was also the successful obstruction to Mintoff’s proposal.”
Dr Alex Borg Olivier said during the integration debate, his father was offered “many goodies” by the British on the suggestions on Mr Mintoff.
“He was offered the best schooling for his children in the UK and property in the best parts of London. However, he took none of this as he was a man of principles,” Dr Borg Olivier said about his father.
Following the 1964 independence, the Nationalist leader had to complete his mission.
Malta was still in its infancy and had nothing to bank on. Dr Borg Olivier started building Malta’s institutions and put the island on the international map.
“He immediately embarked on a mission so that independent Malta becomes a member of the United Nations and the Council of Europe. He also sowed the seeds of Malta’s eventual membership in the EU by signing an association agreement with the then common market.”
But the architect of Malta’s independence also had his bad times.
“He was too loyal to those around him. Had he changed some of his Cabinet members at the end of his second legislature he wouldn’t have lost the 1971 election,” Dr Borg Olivier believed.
He also has vivid memories of what he recalls “the unhappy days” of his father.
After the unexpected defeat in 1971, internal problems started in the PN with some wanting to push him out. They even forced him into a minority when Mr Mintoff wanted to change the Constitution. “That was a big mistake on the PN’s part, which they now have to live with.”
Dr Borg Olivier stepped down as party leader after the 1976 election when the PN suffered its second defeat.
“He knew he had to leave and he had already told those who were eager to replace him that he would step down. However, they couldn’t wait and this hurt him a lot,” Dr Borg Olivier recounts.
“However, my father was always loyal to the PN and he lived for the party and his country. I am very proud of my father and his achievements – no one can take it away from us.”