Mario de Marco spent the first five years of his political career on the government backbenches.  He was then re-elected to Parliament in 2008 and recalled being summoned by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and being appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, answerable to Gonzi himself.

"It was a big challenge for me because I wasn't expecting it," he said, adding that it was hard to drop everything to become a full-time member of Cabinet. 

Besides tourism, he would go on to also be responsible for culture and then the environment, and he was elevated to being a Minister responsible for these three sectors in 2012.

"If I look back, those were the most interesting five years of my life," he said.

The 2008 to 2013 administration however was one which is more remembered for the challenges that it faced: the 2009 financial crisis, the Libya crisis, the 2011 divorce referendum, and the fact that the PN was governing with a one-seat majority.

De Marco was part of what was - especially by today's standards - a small Cabinet of just eight ministers and six parliamentary secretaries in 2008, which then grew by three ministers in 2012.

Asked whether with hindsight that was a mistake, de Marco parallels that time with today where the PL has consistently presented large Cabinets. "Should we have gone down that route?  I don't know, but it doesn't really make sense," he said.

"Having a small Cabinet can make it more efficient but there is a political price to pay, as people in your backbench may start becoming a bit restless," he said.

Could the whole situation have been handled better?  "Subsequently everyone thinks things could have been handled better, but it wasn't an easy situation," de Marco said.

"I know that Lawrence [Gonzi] did try his utmost in extremely difficult circumstances.  I can say that I never saw him lose his cool because of all the things happening around him, and I think that political history hasn't yet been just with him," he continued.

"I think Lawrence Gonzi should be credited for much more than what he has been credited for so far," he said, citing his handling of the 2009 financial crisis, and the Libya crisis as examples.

"Could he have handled the divorce referendum better?  I think so but at the same time, Lawrence is a person who holds his beliefs and values very strongly and he allowed us to vote how we wished," he said.

"He gave us all the liberty [to vote how we wished], but obviously when people want to try and be hard on someone politically, they tend to succeed," De Marco said.

The rest of the interview about the various stages of Mario de Marco's career can be found in links below

Mario de Marco: 23 years as an MP, health challenges and when 'nobody was a hero' in the PN

Mario de Marco (3) 2013: A big defeat, a run for party leadership, and no regrets

2014 (4): Mario de Marco's 'biggest disappointment' in politics

2015 (5): Mario de Marco's health challenges

Mario de Marco 2017 to 2022 (6): 'Nobody was a hero back then' 

2026 (7) Mario de Marco on how he had to be hard on himself and what's next