A veritable volume of words have been said in regard to Guido de Marco, and so many episodes have been recounted to depict his loveable character and amiable personality, his unbounded zest for life, his indomitable spirit, his acumen, his sharp intellect, his perseverance to attain the goals and objectives in which he believed and which he espoused.
For me, it used to be a treat to call on him at his Hamrun home, ‘l-Orangerie’, and share experiences, while he relished recounting episodes of his life’s experience, or reminiscing about old times: his friendship with Michele Di Gianni, general consul for Malta in Naples, which I had been instrumental in bringing about in the late 1960s, when I served as First Secretary in Rome.
I recall the old days in Guardamangia, when we used to attend the Sunday Mass, and when we admired the whole de Marco family going up to receive holy communion at the Fatima Sanctuary, the little ‘meetings’, sharing experiences, (especially, the none-too-easy experiences of the 1970s) after Mass on the Zuntier – indeed, the list of recollections is endless.
It was, however, his belief in my modest capabilities, which brought me ever so close to him, when he appointed me as Ambassador to Germany – and this, twice in a row, the first time in 1995/96 and then, in 1998/9 to 2005.
I recall he had requested me to organise a state visit to the Federal Republic of Germany for him – “a-none-too easy task”, he had hastened to explain to me, as “the Germans organise just six such visits a year, and there is a long queue”.
I succeeded to do so; he often mentioned to me that it was, together with that of Italy, the best state visit – and he had many of these.
In truth, what struck me during this state visit was the way Angela Merkel, then Leader of the Opposition, Edmond Stoiber (then Premier of the State of Bavaria) and Gerhard Schroeder (then Chancellor) were listening so attentively to his Middle East first-hand experiences, that is, his personal relations with Yasser Arafat and with Shimon Peres.
I then thought to myself how lucky small Malta is, to have such an unbounded, charming personality with big Germany as an audience, so attentively listening!
I went on to organise three other state visits in which he was involved: his state visit to Poland, the return visit of the Polish President, Alexander Kwazienski, and more importantly, the state visit of Vaclav Havel to Malta – another visit that was not easy.
De Marco and Havel remained friends.
Above all, it was de Marco’s gentle, amiable character, which endeared him to all with whom he came into contact. He was alien to malice and to harm, he always saw the positive side of his adversaries, he never as much as uttered a bad word against anybody; indeed, he went out of his way to pick out their good points and with his engaging smiles and infectious joie de vivre, brought everyone on side. Truly, he epitomised the gentleman.
I recall that soon after the end of my mission in Berlin, he had requested me to deliver a talk on German foreign policy at the Strickland Foundation.
I had prepared myself well on this pet subject of mine, but, while introducing me, his very erudite and deep insight into the subject had the effect not only of focussing more prominently the attention of the audience, but of taking most of the wind out of my sails!
His ever-radiant face, always wreathed in a smile, shall always remain a beacon in our minds and hearts – a tall personality, who made us all proud, and who added lustre to our nation.
Mr Spiteri is a former Maltese Ambassador to Germany.