It may sound strange, nowadays, but as a young teenager one of my “hobbies”, so to speak, was politics. I would avidly go through The Times, In-Tagħna and The Daily Express every day and was very politically active both in my school – De La Salle College – and in my home town – Attard.
Granted, we didn’t have much of a choice in those days but my favourite TV programmes were the political debates aired on Xandir Malta. While my brothers had football stars like Trevor Brooking as their idol (they’re both fanatical West Ham United supporters – for some unfathomable reason), one of my heroes in those days was Mario Felice. My father and I would cheer him on during his regular appearances on television in much the same way as the Romans of old would cheer on their favourite gladiator. He used to be amazingly quick and superbly witty.
We weren’t the only ones impressed by his intelligence. Even though Dr Felice was renowned for being averse to the home visits which are a staple part of the local political scene, he was amazingly popular by virtue of his performance in televised debates. He was, at one time, being touted to replace that magnificent statesman, George Borg Olivier, as leader of the Nationalist Party.
Dr Felice was universally respected for his knowledge of financial affairs. He was appointed chairman of the Malta International Business Authority in 1989 by the Nationalist Administration led by Eddie Fenech Adami and later chaired the Malta Financial Services Centre until 1995. He was a trusted adviser of former Finance Minister John Dalli. He was also nominated as chairman of the Financial Structures and Products Committee by the short-lived Labour Administration led by Alfred Sant between 1996 and 1998.
He was, unfortunately, the target of an unjust whispering campaign which depicted him as a turncoat due to his relatively good relationship with then Prime Minister Dom Mintoff. Understandably, during the difficult 1970s, this led to people turning against him even though Dr Felice’s Nationalist pedigree was impeccable – his father, Giovanni, was a popular Nationalist minister who also contested the Sliema district in the 1950s and 1960s and was one of the most trusted members of Dr Borg Olivier’s Cabinet.
Dr Felice’s individualistic traits may have been looked upon unfavourably by those who preferred a monolithic party. Political adversaries may also have had a hand in this negative campaigning.
Dr Felice and Mr Mintoff, politically, were like chalk and cheese. Dr Felice was a strong believer in the Western Alliance, Nato, while Mr Mintoff was doing his damndest to tease the West by dallying with all the communist states on the planet. However, despite their deep-rooted ideological differences, a mutual sense of respect seems to have united them.
Could this trait have been better used by the Nationalists to help relieve the political tension that damaged our country so much in the late 1970s and early 1980s? We will never know.
Dr Felice’s death robbed us of one of the last of the old guard of Nationalist gladiators who so ably graced the political scene during the turbulent 1970s.