Much-respected and beloved, Censu Tabone’s life took him from medical wards to union halls and Cabinet rooms. Bertrand Borg spoke with some of those whose paths he crossed along the way.
Eddie Fenech Adami, former President and Prime Minister
My relationship with Dr Tabone stretches back several years, practically to 1962 when he became the Nationalist Party’s secretary-general and I was his deputy. I got to know him closely and soon found out that he was a man of inexhaustible energy who was never discouraged.
He was an all-rounder who could speak about practically any topic. He was capable of contributing to discussions regardless of what was being discussed.
Dr Tabone was an icon, both as an exemplary family man as well as a man given to service. He was held in extremely high esteem for his anti-trachoma work across Asia. We were once on a visit to China together and our hosts held a reception specifically for him in recognition of his medical work.
He entered politics late but he had done so with his usual energy and vigour and is destined to be remembered fondly by the Maltese people.
Vincent Tabone, son
We have so many lovely memories of him, it’s hard to know where to start. His hectic life, first as a doctor and then as a politician, meant that we didn’t get to see enough of him throughout our childhood but he always loved the family and looked after us.
He was a loving, kind father. One look from papa was all it took for us to realise we were doing something naughty.
My father’s concern for looking after all of us went on to the very end. Even as he was ill and we were caring for him, he continuously chastised us, telling us that it was his job to look after us, not the other way round.
He lost his father when he was nine years old and I suppose that left something of an indelible mark on him. His door was always open to everybody, in politics and medicine.
The (Labour Party) boycott hurt him a lot but very few actually stuck to it. Many Labour MPs continued to speak and meet with him throughout the boycott and I think Alfred Sant’s offer of extending his presidential term went a long way towards making amends. Papa really appreciated it.
Alfred Sant, former Prime Minister
As Leader of the Opposition, during the spring of 1992, I found in Dr Tabone a cordial interlocutor, wise, prudent and energetic in listening to the viewpoints of others, while making his opinions obvious on matters which he considered to be fundamental.
He proposed that we start meeting regularly. And so, he and his wife hosted a series of enjoyable lunches à trois. Meanwhile, we talked. There were numerous occasions during which we agreed to disagree. Not one of them affected the relationship of trust that he knew how to build.
He also found time to make good friends with my daughter, then still a child. When his term of office came to an end, she was inconsolable to learn he could no longer be President. It was perhaps – still is – the best tribute one could pay to Dr Tabone and his contribution to the public life of this country.
Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, former President
Dr Tabone was a man of courage and decisiveness, with a sense of both individual and social justice. He was an outstanding physician but did not limit himself to being a man of science.
Despite having entered politics relatively late in life, he had an extremely youthful mind and was always eager to look forward rather than back.
He was responsible for the PN’s first real steps in developing an organised political party framework and his work in this regard cannot be underestimated.
I will always remember him as an open-minded and loyal colleague who was extremely outspoken but always kept his word.
Martin Balzan, Medical Association of Malta president
Dr Tabone was one of the MAM’s founders in the mid-1950s and was very active in improving doctors’ working conditions. As a doctor, he was best-known for his sterling work in fighting trachoma.
He was extremely gentlemanly, induced respect and was respected by all, with an extremely polished manner, which he took with him into political life.
It was a sign of his involvedness that he continued to attend several official MAM functions up to just a few years ago. He only stopped showing up when his health began to worsen.
The international medical profession held him in extremely high regard and, some years ago, the World Medical Association included him in a book about outstanding doctors from across the world.
He was an exemplary physician.
Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, former Prime Minister
I first knew Dr Tabone in the 1950s when he was leading the doctors’ union movement and I was their lawyer. I then got to know him better when he became Industrial Relations Minister and I was the General Workers’ Union’s lawyer. At the time, he was piloting an Industrial Relations Bill that I strongly opposed.
Later, as Leader of the Opposition I opposed his nomination – and imposed a social boycott – to the Presidency on two grounds. Firstly, Dr Tabone had formed part of a parliamentary committee that had some years earlier called for the President to be nominated either by a referendum or two-thirds majority.
His nomination satisfied neither. Secondly, there was a verbal agreement that a subsequent PN government would nominate a President from the Labour Party’s ranks. The person would likely have been Dom Mintoff.
Personally, I had absolutely nothing against Dr Tabone. I think he was extremely capable and loyal as well as a gentleman.
With the benefit of hindsight, would I repeat the boycott? Yes, I would, because it was a matter of principle. I believe the President should always come from the opposition benches.
Henry Frendo, historian and biographer
He was a great patriot as well as a rather unique figure in Maltese history, as one of the few people to have firmly established himself before entering politics.
Dr Tabone didn’t need politics, in fact, being made a minister was financially ruinous for him. But he was a man of conviction who worked hard for what he believed in.
He was a very intriguing man, an energetic sort who loved carpentry as well as fixing clocks. When I first started working on his biography he was already into his 80s but not only was he still repairing clocks, he was learning how to use a PC, browse the internet and use e-mail.
When he was first made minister in 1966, he was the only new member of George Borg Olivier’s Cabinet. It was quite the break and I think he rose to the occasion.
If you look at his record, he did a great deal for the disabled, widows, orphans and the elderly. He introduced legislation protecting against unfair work dismissal and increased employment in spite of the British rundown.
As PN general secretary, he was tasked with organising a party that wasn’t organised at all and paved the way for Louis Galea. He was quite a pioneer and was instrumental in setting up the PN think tank, AŻAD.
Leo Brincat, Labour MP on the ninth district
What struck me most about Dr Tabone was the fact that he was always his unassuming self regardless of his role. In spite of his age, he stuck out for his clarity and sharpness of vision, especially with regard to foreign affairs.
He was a man of strong family values and, although there were some misgivings about his nomination to the Presidency, I think many people were eventually pleasantly proved wrong.
I remember meeting him at a series of social events in the later stages of his life and him commenting about recent medical and international developments. That was the sort of man he was, always eager to keep abreast of issues and the sort of doctor whose interests stretched far beyond health and medical issues.