Vince Farrugia has admitted “it was not a clever idea” to contest the European Parliament elections with the Nationalist Party.In a frank admission, he told Times of Malta his foray into politics four years ago turned his tenure as director general of the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU, into a “difficult situation”.

On Monday, Mr Farrugia, 68, stepped down from the GRTU post he has held for almost two decades. His advice to any prospective director general is to avoid contesting an election while retaining the post.

Vince Farrugia, director general of GRTU. Photo: Jason Borg

“I thought the country had matured enough to allow anybody who exercised his right as a European citizen to contest an election, and return to his job unhindered,” he said.

To tell things as they are, and look back at the angry faces of those behind me, is not for me

But Mr Farrugia will not be disappearing from the public eye any time soon.

He still has two years to go as a representative of employers and business on the EU’s Economic and Social Committee and may even consider crossing the rubicon to join the environmental lobby.

In his words, returning to the green lobby will represent a return to his roots before joining the GRTU, when he headed the Institute for the Design of Environmental Action set up by then Labour minister Daniel Micallef in the 1980s.

“The environment is close to my heart and over the years I spent at GRTU I shot from the other side because I represented industry and developers but if I had the chance I would go back to the environment lobby,” he said.

Mr Farrugia rules out returning to politics in the future. He argues that “a blunt person” like him is not suitable.

“To say things as they are, and look back at the angry faces of those behind me, is not for me.”

Although not entirely unexpected, his departure, announced in a short statement by the GRTU, caught many by surprise, fuelling speculation that Mr Farrugia may have been pushed out by disgruntled council members.

He denies any friction with the council, insisting his departure was by mutual consent. But Mr Farrugia acknowledges there may have been GRTU members who wanted change.

“There are those who politically never forgave me for contesting for the Nationalists and others who argue that I have more time for the big issues and not enough time for them,” he says.

However, he also acknowledges there are others who “simply want a change” at the helm.

He also denied a court decision in the Sandro Chetcuti case, expected next week, was a factor in his departure.

Mr Chetcuti was originally accused of attempted murder after he punched Mr Farrugia at his Valletta office in 2010, a charge subsequently reduced to serious injury.

The case turned out to be an embarrassment for the GRTU after court evidence revealed how the initial police charge was based on the skewed version of events recounted by some GRTU officials.

But Mr Farrugia insisted he was departing now just before the start of the peak season in Brussels. He said that from mid-September until March he would be very busy with travel.

“My load has become too heavy between Malta and Brussels. I have quite a big load in Brussels, more than I had originally defined for myself and I enjoy it,” he said, adding that with a change of government in Malta there was much work to do.

Mr Farrugia will still lend his expertise to the organisation but said the GRTU had a capable team in place to continue.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com