Clearly sore at missing out on an opportunity to be the Commonwealth's next Secretary General, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo nonetheless insisted yesterday that the campaign was a positive experience that had raised the country's international profile.
"I can't say we're not disappointed but I think we emerge with the highest dignity..." he said reacting to the result which was announced early yesterday morning in Kampala, Uganda, where this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is being held.
The campaign, Dr Frendo emphasised, provided the country with much exposure and helped raise its profile as a state which had a vision and a contribution to make on the international scene.
The Indian High Commissioner to London who received the official backing of his government, Kamalesh Sharma, won the two-man race after another candidate - Mohan Kaul - was eliminated given that he was not backed by a state.
India's increasing influence as one of the world's fastest growing economies was identified as a major obstacle for Malta's bid early on in the race. However, Dr Frendo had managed to gain ground, particularly in recent days when he steered the Commonwealth's Ministerial Action Committee as it suspended Pakistan from the organisation in reaction to the state of emergency its president, Pervez Musharraf, is enforcing on the country.
Government officials from different countries who spoke to The Times informally on Thursday had said Dr Frendo's performance on the issue had scored him points with delegates as an "action man", yet India's clout proved to be too strong in the end.
The number of votes each candidate got remains secret as part of the Commonwealth's rather arcane tradition. The election, in fact, is not a straightforward vote but a straw poll among the states attending the CHOGM.
After reviewing the result of the poll, the outgoing Secretary General Don McKinnon (who has held the post since 2000 and is the only one to see the votes) advised the Government that the Indian candidate was destined to win the contest. Subsequently, Malta retired its candidacy in line with procedure and Mr Sharma was unanimously voted in.
Asked whether the result was close, Mr McKinnon's blunt reply was: "I'm not going to tell you that, am I".
Questions to Mr Sharma during his first press conference yesterday focused on whether he plans to bring change to the organisation, widely accused of being fundamentally inconsequential. He was also probed on his uncomfortable position as an Indian whose first challenge is likely to be Pakistan.
Yesterday, however, he diplomatically skirted this question by pointing out that he will be taking over in four months' time and much could happen in the meantime.
"Someone arranged for me to take over on April Fool's day so I don't know if someone knows something which I don't," he said humorously, "but I will be taking over in four months... one week is a long time in politics they say, four months is a very long time."
Asked for his reaction, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said Malta had joined the rest of the Commonwealth nations to approve Mr Sharma's candidacy because it believed he would contribute to the organisation irrespective of his country's relations on Pakistan.
Dr Gonzi admitted that Malta's race against a big country like India was always going to be tough but added that the past days had demonstrated the great deal of respect that Dr Frendo enjoyed within the Commonwealth.