Tomorrow’s official opening of the new Parliament building will open a new chapter, as Maltese MPs will move out of the Presidential Palace to premises designed by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano.

For more than 50 years, parliamentarians met at the Tapestry Chamber but during the 1970s the beautifully adorned hall dating back to the Knights of St John was no longer adequate for the purpose.

Consequently, a new plenary Chamber was inaugurated in a large hall, which resulted in the relocation of the Palace’s Armoury to a smaller space on the ground floor of the Presidential Palace.

This Chamber hosted the last sitting on April 24, when the House reconvened for an urgent sitting in the wake of the migration crisis.

Just as the move to the new Piano building has been mired in delays and controversy, the then Nationalist Opposition boycotted the official opening of the Chamber in 1976.

Malta’s parliamentary history goes back to 1921, when the island, which was still under British rule, was granted the right for self-government. For the very first time the Maltese chose their representatives, who would be responsible for running domestic matters only.

Just as the move to the new Piano building has been mired in delays and controversy,the Opposition boycotted the official opening of the Chamber in 1976

Prof. Godfrey Pirotta, author of the official history of Malta’s Parliament told The Sunday Times of Malta that the debate regarding whether Parliament should have its own House away from the Palace began in 1921.

Locations which were considered were Auberge de Castille, the Auberge de France and the National Library in Valletta. In the late 1920s an idea was floated to build a House of Parliament on top of the Auberge D’Aragon but more forcefully over the site of the Main Guard.

Plans were actually drawn up and presented before Parliament, but the cost, approximately £60,000 was considered prohibitive.

The plenary Chamber at the new Parliament building, designed by Renzo Piano. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Parliament did move from the Tapestry Hall to the Armoury in the 1970s. In the 17th and 18th centuries, prior to the advent of parliamentary democracy, the historic hall had hosted the Council Chamber of the Order of St John and from 1850 onwards, under British rule, the meetings of the Council of Government.

Prof. Pirotta said the Labour government headed by Dom Mintoff was becoming concerned about the preservation of historic tapestries and the need for more space for members.

The Opposition led by George Borg Olivier disagreed with the idea of relocating the plenary Chamber to the Armoury but his objection was not very strong.

Dr Borg Olivier had appealed to the Prime Minister that before taking a decision, the government should look at the way other European parliaments, housed within historic buildings, had gone about modernising their facilities.

“He certainly hoped that their present desks, which in his view were little better than school desks, would not be transferred to a new Chamber,” Prof. Pirotta remarked.

But plans had been finalised and the Prime Minister was not prepared to tell the Swedish government (which had contributed to the cost of the furnishings) that there might be changes, he said.

Yet, the historian said Dr Mintoff hoped the new facilities would serve to forge a closer relationship between the two sides and with the public.

The new Chamber was inaugurated on August 13, 1976, on the last sitting of the legislature.

One month later the country went to the polls to elect a new government.

Prof. Pirotta noted that the occasion had been soured by the fact that the Opposition had stayed away from the ceremony, claiming that the timing of the event was a partisan act to gain the electoral advantage.

Asked for his views about the new Piano building, Prof. Pirotta welcomed the move, saying that notwithstanding its many shortcomings, the new Parliament was a step in the right direction and an important development in Maltese parliamentary history.

How do they view it?

Former President Ugo Mifsud Bonnici.

President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, whose parliamentary career stretched from 1966 to 1994, said the migration to the new building would bring to an end a long tradition.

“The Tapestry Chamber was probably the most beautiful parliamentary Chamber in the world, but over time it was no longer adequate for such a purpose,” he said.

The nostalgic President Emeritus noted how in his first 10 years as MP the Tapestry Chamber was still in use.

Touching on the controversy surrounding the opening of the now-disused chamber in 1976, he noted that the Opposition took that stand at the time because it had not been consulted at all.

As for the move to the Piano building, he said the migration was dictated by the needs to offer better facilities to MPs.

Former Labour deputy leader Joe Brincat, whose first years as an MP date back to the early 1970s, is not impressed with the new building.

The former MP recounted that while walking past the Piano building he noted tourists asking each other whether the ground floor was a new shopping complex.

“I did not have the privilege of visiting the building from inside. What I know is that there are problems about the usable space.

“But the new House of Parliament is wonderful because it has a brand name! What do we need more?” Dr Brincat remarked sarcastically.