President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici will be launching his autobiography tomorrow and in the build up to the event, he was interviewed by our sister paper The Malta Independent on Sunday.
Apart from the full-length interview, Dr Mifsud Bonnici shared some anecdotes, where he recounted the sequence of events which led to the stolen Caravaggio painting being found, as well as his advice to then Prime Minister Alfred Sant that he could not afford to break things off with Dom Mintoff. He recalled how he had advised Dr Sant against arbitrarily raising water and electricity tariffs across the board during his stint as Prime Minister between 1996 and 1998. Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s autobiography is extensive and goes into the minute details that other politicians did not in their accounts.
It shows the stature of the man. Dr Mifsud Bonnici writes about how he offered Dr Sant advice because when he was in a previous Eddie Fenech Adami cabinet, the government had considered increasing the tariffs. He also warned Dr Sant against breaking off from Mintoff, telling him that he was still a stalwart within the party and could not afford to lose his support because he needed to complete his five-year mandate.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici went on to explain that as President, it did not matter to him who was in government, but what concerned him was the fact that he wanted the party in power to complete its five-year term.
The revelations are truly fascinating, and it just goes to show how the real stories behind the corridors of power only start to emerge decades later. But it also goes to show what a difficult switch Maltese presidents must make when they are appointed to the role, coming from a heavy political background.
All recent Presidents have had that hallmark and all of them did what they could to rise above politics and become Malta’s head of state. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici’s predecessor is a prime example – the much loved Censu Tabone. Dr Mifsud Bonnici was succeeded by Guido de Marco, followed by Eddie Fenech Adami and George Abela – a Labour figure who was appointed by the Nationalist Party in government.
All of them put their own stamp on the Presidency and our new President, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca has put her plan to fight poverty into action every single day. Malta should truly value their presidents. As we have mentioned, many come from a background where they were heavily involved in politics. But all of them shone in their own way as Malta’s head of state. Each had their own way of doing things, and we are convinced that each of them worked tirelessly behind the scenes in times of crises as well as the quiet times.
While the President’s role is ceremonial, we should cherish it. And we should also cherish the effort that each and every one of them has put in to be impartial and to do the best they could do for this tiny, yet so complex nation.