It was a far cry from the rapturous crowd which invaded the same Palace Square on the morrow of the 12 April 2003 election and which acclaimed him as the man who wrought “the miracle”.

Yesterday’s ceremony was also marked with a name change, perhaps to signify that the person at the head of the country is a somewhat different person from the political leader of the past 30 years: It is President Edward Fenech Adami now, at least according to nomenclature the DOI used, pointedly different from the Eddie Fenech Adami of the hurly-burly world of politics.

This was however lost on the mainly partisan crowd which punctuated the various phases of the ceremony with the PN battlecry of “Eddie, Eddie”. And it was also lost on the PN media which continued to refer to President Eddie Fenech Adami.

The man himself seemed somewhat restricted by the protocol which surrounds a President. His body language and even his face were a far cry from the bonhomie exhibited just a few minutes before by outgoing President Guido de Marco who made an emotional exit from San Anton Palace and who responded warmly to the crowd’s applause.

President Fenech Adami, in contrast, left home smiling but although surrounded by former Presidents and acclaimed by the crowd, ended the morning looking rather tense and formal.

The oath taking ceremony was quickly over, after which President Fenech Adami read a speech in which he took pains to praise all the previous Presidents and to commit himself to be the President of all the Maltese..

The official ceremony over, he hurried to rejoin his five children and the numerous grandchildren, clearly the apple of his eye, and to meet the former Presidents.

At the end, he took the first formal salute on Palace Square while the tiny airforce of the island, a lone plane and some helicopters flew overhead (the television crew was caught out on the fly pass, not the only lapse in the broadcast on TVM).

In his speech, President Fenech Adami said:

Many times in the past, in public, I have spoken the words: “I am proud to be Maltese”. Today those same words, that same declaration, have been imbued with a new sense of purpose and solemnity after having pledged, before you and before God, that I shall “faithfully exectute the office of President of Malta and will, to the best of my abilities, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of Malta”.

I have taken this oath because I firmly believe the sentiments expressed in our national anthem. I believe that God bestows upon all those in positions of authority in this country the necessary virtues needed to wield that authority in a just and legitimate manner.

On four previous occasions I have been summoned here by four successive Maltese Presidents to take the oath of office as the country’s Prime Minister, without fear or favour. With hand on heart I can say that during my tenure as Prime Minister I always did what I believed was in the country’s best interests in the various circumstances that Malta found itself in. These circumstances have included times of significant and radical changes, for Malta and for the world at large.

Today, the fourth day of the fourth month of the fourth year of this, the third millennium of the Christian era, I have been called upon by the House of Representatives to serve as President of Malta for the next five years, God willing. This is the fifth time I have been called upon to render service to Malta and to the Maltese, and to this fifth call I reply with the utmost humility: “Here I stand. I am ready to serve”.

Times of change, indeed. Having turned seventy I am now in a better position to look back and reconsider the way in which I read and responded to the signs of the times. My first memories in this regard relate to many tragic events that prevailed during the Second World War. As a six year old boy, I vividly

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remember the first air raid over Malta that occurred just before 7am on the 11th of June 1940. Innumerable nights spent in air-raid shelters are similarly etched in my memory. I also recall U.S. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stopping over in Malta on their way to the historic Yalta conference. This particular memory merges with another, more recent one. One that goes back just a few years to December 1989 when Malta hosted Presidents Bush and Gorbachev for a momentous summit meeting that reversed the decisions taken in Yalta and brought about a new era of understanding and co-operation between nations.

I also remember a time when, as one of five children, life presented many more hardships than it does today. I recall my father being obliged to take an oath before the University Registrar so as to be exonerated from paying tuition fees for my brother and me due to the family’s financial situation. Nowadays, thanks to the efforts of successive Maltese governments, we have ensured that education is truly accessible to one and all.

I have clear recollections of the fifties as a university student: Endless discussions revolving around Malta’s constitutional future. This at a time when the British Empire as we knew it was, in effect, crumbling and some fifty ex-British colonies had already obtained their independence. Then came the sixties. A time for decisions to be taken, a time that required much courage and plenty of determination so as to ensure a brighter future for our country. It was also at this time that I found myself fully immersed in the political arena, another contender in the competition. And this is precisely how I’ve always viewed the contest, the competition between the political parties: A contest determining what and who is best capable of providing the greatest common good.

A civilized and modern country’s greatest acquisition is, undoubtedly, Democracy. I am proud of the way in which our country has been able to make Democracy function successfully even in the most difficult of circumstances. Today no-one can call into question Malta’s and the Maltese people’s democratic credentials. When the country was passing through particularly difficult moments, I did whatever was necessary for the right solutions to be found to remedy the nation’s problems.

We have undergone drastic changes too insofar as the successful administration of the economy is concerned. It would be safe to say that most countries have, at one time or another, experimented with state-controlled economies. Nearly all have come to the conclusion that state-control does not provide the desired results. The fall of the Berlin Wall brought this fact to light in a dramatic manner. I was fortunate enough to be the first government leader to walk from one side of Berlin to the other through an opening in the wall.

Today we are undergoing possibly the most radical changes to date in our economic system. We also constantly refer to the real and present phenomenon

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of globalisation. Is Malta capable of keeping abreast with and adapting to these drastic changes? Whosoever has faith in the Maltese can only but reply in the affirmative.

Today I also ask the same question that I have asked myself many times whilst in public office: Who are the Maltese?

The Maltese believe in Divine Providence. We believe in God Almighty who is omnipresent and who never abandons us, leaving us to our own devices. A few days ago I was fortunate enough to attend “The Benjamin Tonna Lecture” addressed by Fr. Philip Endean SJ. The subject chosen was: “Karl Rahner: Theologian of Hope and Dialogue”. I followed this lecture with great interest and was particularly struck by one recurring theme:

Karl Rahner, possibly the most influential 20th century theologian, believed that every person, independently of religious faith, has in his or her lifetime a personal experience of the omnipresent God. Fr. Endean equated this concept with what he experienced whilst visiting the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. Thousands of years before the birth of Christ the inhabitants of these islands must surely have experienced God, in a way as defined by Rahner, when they were excavating the underground temples. The ‘experience of God’ may also go a long way in explaining the mystery of the Maltese megalithic temples.

We, the Maltese, are proud that a significant episode in our nation’s history is clearly documented in the Scriptures. In the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Luke writes about two specific ‘necessities’: It was necessary for Saint Paul to travel to Rome and equally ‘necessary’ for the ship that he was travelling on to be wrecked on an island called Malta.

The existential experience of the Almighty and the Christian faith are the cornerstones upon which the Maltese character and identity have been built over the millennia.

This is why the Maltese understand only too well the real meaning of solidarity. Solidarity that begins within one’s family, one’s neighbours. Solidarity that goes beyond and that is selflessly extended to whoever is in need. And it is precisely because of this national characteristic that every Maltese government, irrespective of political affiliations, has given the highest priority to policies that ensure and that strengthen the concept of social justice.

The Maltese never despair because we instinctively know that Hope is a virtue that fortifies us and that gives us the necessary moral strength required in times of rapid change.

And we are, undoubtedly, living in times of relentless change. It is for this reason that I rejoiced when, on the 8th of March of last year, the Maltese people

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democratically determined that the best way forward in facing up to the challenges wrought by constant change was by joining the European Union, an entity that is built on three specific concepts: The utmost respect and regard for human rights, the active promotion of peace and understanding between nations as well as the creation and the equitable distribution of wealth. As of the first of May, this next important step in our country’s history will be marked by the presence of the twelve-starred European flag flying adjacent to every Maltese flag.

The European Union is now a reality that, up until a short while ago, seemed to be an unattainable dream to many. Great men such as Robert Schuman, Alcide de Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer, profoundly influenced by their Christian culture and ideology, firmly believed that European unity was feasible, and thereby laid the foundations for a future European Union by means of the Rome Treaty. I trust that in a few weeks time Malta too will be present in Rome for the signing of the treaty establishing the European Union’s constitution.

In this significantly historic context, I have accepted to serve the Maltese people as the nation’s president. I am well aware that there are those who disagreed with my nomination, nevertheless I guarantee that I shall do all that is in my power to be truly worthy of this office.

I have many admirable role models to draw inspiration from. To this end I salute Sir Anthony Mamo, the first president of the Maltese Republic. I honour the memory of the late Anton Buttigieg, Agatha Barbara and Pawlu Xuereb. I would also like to thank my predecessors, Censu Tabone, Ugo Mifsud Bonnici and Guido de Marco.

I would also like to thank you, Prime Minister, for nominating me to this office, as well as all the members of Parliament to whom I assure my unstinting commitment to work together with you so as to truly foster unity amongst the Maltese.

I would also like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all those who have worked closely with me throughout the years, especially all those who work in the Public Service. Their support has been instrumental in the many years that I have rendered service to the people of Malta.

I would like to thank my wife and my family for their quiet, unwavering support.

Finally I would like to thank my late parents and all those who, throughout my life, have contributed in some way to make me the person I am today, and who have built and strengthened my character with the values that they imparted to me.