In typical fashion, Dom Mintoff held out to the very end. He passed away last night at his home in Tarxien aged 96, his body finally giving out to the ravages of time.
Mr Mintoff, revered by some, despised by others, is still regarded as one of Malta’s most prominent politicians ever. An architect by profession, he passed away after having surprised everyone with his tenacity and durability in his final years of illness.
Mr Mintoff was Malta’s longest serving politician, elected every time between 1947 and 1998. He was still active in the run-up to EU accession, which he campaigned against as part of Front Maltin Inqumu in 2003.
He will forever be known as il-perit, a doer by nature, but with policies and antics that flabbergasted many, including his own party. He twice brought down socialist governments, in the 1940s when he toppled Paul Boffa, and again in 1998, when he brought down Alfred Sant’s government.
Labour leader Joseph Muscat addressed a press conference live on television last night. He paid tribute to the former Labour leader and said that Malta would not be what it is today without the leadership of Mr Mintoff.
He said the Labour Party was saddened by Mr Mintoff’s demise and reminded that he had done a lot to push for the advancement of the working class and women, in particular. Mr Mintoff pioneered the welfare state as we know it today. He worked on it in his tenures between 1955 and 1958 and again in 1971 and 1984.
In a statement, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi also paid tribute to Mr Mintoff, describing him as a committed and great politician, and said that government has offered a state funeral for Mr Mintoff, which offer was accepted by Mr Mintoff’s family.
He was loved by many, but many also believe that he was repressive and allowed violence to foment against political opposition. Dom Mintoff battled against several setbacks. His first government in resignation 1958 after the failure of his campaign for integration with Britain. He then went off at a complete tangent, but was beaten to achieving independence by his much respected rival Gorg Borg Olivier, though he trumped him further down the line by making Malta a republic in 1974 and ‘kicking’ the British out of Malta in 1979. It was an antithesis. Dom Mintoff was married to a British woman and was educated in the UK. In his years of seeking better deals from the British while Malta was a colony, he even mastered and cultured a Queen’s English accent, though it was still undeniably Maltese.
Within hours of ending discussions with Lord Carrington on the end of British military presence in Malta, Mintoff turned to pariah states. He flew off to China, North Korea, Romania and of course Libya, to forge friendships with dubious friends. But at the same time, he sought to protect Malta from sinking into communism and the influence of the Iron Curtain by maintaining Malta’s neutrality. He forged a close friendship with Muammar Gaddafi who bankrolled Malta in his 1971 tenure.
Malta’s buses became green, as did our passports and Arabic was introduced in the educational curriculum. It was to be one of the decisions which still tarnish him today. Malta’s people quietly rebelled against this pandering and the Labour Party was voted out of office in 1987 in the election following the perverse result which saw his party elected to power in the previous election despite winning less votes than the PN. Dom Mintoff is still Malta’s youngest prime minister, in 1955 but his clashes with the Church – omnipotent in those days – cost him two elections. When he was returned to power in 1971, something had changed. Mintoff – although still I nhis own mind battling for the wellbeing of Maltese citizens – was straying and his ideas were not going down well. But those who still adore him to this day will remember him for raft reforms of social benefits -including better pensions, children's allowance and the minimum wage.
His government did well in the early 1970s, but controlled imports, political violence and human rights abuses became the norm. Under his tenure, the Times of Malta building was torched and the house of former PN prime minister (opposition leader at the time) Eddie Fenech Adami, was ransacked. In 1984, Mintoff handed over to Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici. But he still held sway and in 1998, he brought down the Alfred Sant government.
He was active in his ripe old age. Wracked by dementia, he once mistook a One News crew for someone else and gave them what for when voting. He even turned out to vote in a wheelchair in the divorce campaign. He was fiery. He was rude. He was a great orator. He was a comedian. He was a doer. He was patriotic. He was bullish. He was also misguided in his later years as a leader. But he was Maltese. However he approached politics and leading a nation, his intentions were always for Malta’s advancement. He just got it wrong towards the end of his career as prime minister.
He will be cherished in the memory of some. He will be despised by others. But he was Dom Mintoff and always will be remembered as one of the greatest characters – despite his many sins against the people – that this country has ever produced. Farwell, Dom Mintoff. It is safe to say that you will be remembered.