interview

A gentleman from Cottonera

FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC UGO MIFSUD BONNICI TALKED TO KURT SANSONE ABOUT HIS LIFE IN POLITICS AS A COTTONERA REPRESENTATIVE AND HIS YEARS AS PRESIDENT

For a politician who had represented the Cottonera district for almost 30 years, it was not easy to give up serving the people he loved to be elected to the post of President of the Republic.

Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici was elected by Parliament to the highest post in the country in 1994. He recalled how he felt when the proposal was made to him.

"I did not want to become President. At my age I feel I can still contribute to politics," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.

"As a minister I wanted to conclude certain things which I had started myself, such as the Junior College. But it is no use crying over spilt milk now," he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and smiling wryly about the matter.

However, Dr Mifsud Bonnici believes that with hindsight his appointment as President may have been a blessing in disguise considering the difficult political situation that cropped up during his term in office.

I wondered whether Dr Mifsud Bonnici would consider re-entering politics.

"There is a tradition that has been maintained by all people who served as President of the Republic, to stay out of politics once the term of office is over. I think this is a good tradition. I cannot see myself going back to the divisiveness of politics after having served in an impartial role respected by all people," he replied.

Malta’s presidency does not have executive powers and is mostly ceremonial. The only active role that involves the president concerns the general election, during which he supervises the transition period. Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s presidency was not uneventful.

After supervising the transition of governments in 1996 he went on to supervise the freak 1998 election. Our discussion shifted to the controversial political events that occurred during the summer of 1998.

"Mintoff had been criticising the government for quite some time but I did not believe the issue would come to a head in June. Furthermore, Alfred Sant did not know the situation was going to precipitate in that way," Dr Mifsud Bonnici recalled.

He continued, "I could not understand how the Labour government never consulted Mintoff on the Cottonera project. This did not bode well for Alfred Sant’s government."

The ex-president admitted that the water and electricity price-hikes were a difficult measure to adopt, but he understood that they went against Mintoff’s principles. "Even so I never believed Mintoff would bring down the government," Dr Mifsud Bonnici remarked.

However, the issue was more complex then that. "Alfred Sant had taken a number of decisions to bring about reconciliation in the country, such as the Independence Day celebrations. These could have bothered Mintoff because they were undoing all that he had created in the party," Dr Mifsud Bonnici insisted.

Describing the situation at the time, Dr Mifsud Bonnici recalled that in June he was in hospital undergoing a major operation. "The acting president had come to me explaining what had happened in parliament. After the vote of no confidence passed in parliament an election was on the doorstep. Given my condition I asked the acting president to delay the situation until my condition improved."

The election seemed to be the only way out of the impasse.

"I had a judgement to make and the question I asked myself was, ‘Could I save this government?" Dr Mifsud Bonnici reiterated.

The options available were limited. He could have either asked the Opposition leader to form a minority government supported by Mintoff or else turned to somebody else from the Labour side to see whether he could have mustered a majority in the House.

However, Dr Mifsud Bonnici explained that Mintoff had insisted on more then one occasion that he did not want to support a PN government.

He continued, "From the way things developed I understood that nobody except Alfred Sant would have the trust of the majority of MLP MPs, apart from Mintoff obviously."

The situation left the President with no other alternative but to accept Alfred Sant’s advice to go for an early general election.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici added, "In my considered judgement I think that was the only option available."

During the whole crisis Dr Mifsud Bonnici never called on Mintoff to talk to him. However, he admitted that on more than one occasion he told Alfred Sant to take note of the octogenarian.

"I repeatedly told Dr Sant to try and understand Mintoff. Mintoff was an aged man, the founder of the Labour Party and a personality in his own right. However, there was a clash of personalities and Dr Sant did not take things lying down," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.

Reminiscing about the difficulties he faced as President, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that it was hard for him to hold back from talking on political issues.

"I would not have willingly accepted a second term in office had it been offered," he remarked with a glimmer of relief in his eye. He continued, "I did my work wholeheartedly for one term and I was not taken aback by Alfred Sant’s refusal to accept my nomination for a second term in office."

Dr Mifsud Bonnici does not agree with the suggestion that the President should have more powers.

"Giving the President more powers means that you have to make the post open to criticism, and I do not agree with that," he said.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici lives in the same house that belonged to his father. It is situated in the midst of Bormla so it was inevitable the talk would turn to Cottonera and the stigma attached to the area. Dr Mifsud Bonnici holds a special place in his heart for the people of Cottonera.

"This is my home," he interjected proudly. He went on to describe the demographic change that occurred in the area after World War II.

"Prior to the war Cottonera was a complete social cosmos. The war changed everything because people moved out. They found more comfort in other villages and had no incentive to come back. Cottonera was associated with suffering and inconvenience," he explained.

The ex-President reserved words of praise for his fellow ‘Bormlizi’. "We are people with generous hearts. We may have a short fuse but we hold no grudges against anyone," he said.

I wondered whether the stigma on a national level transcends also into the party structures. Dr Mifsud Bonnici admitted that he found difficulty within his own party because of the independent minded culture that prevails in Cottonera citizens.

He expounded on the matter. "The Cottonera candidates, including myself, were vociferous on every issue that cropped up. We had a reputation for speaking our minds which did not go down all that well with some people," he said with a smile on his face.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici continued, "If we (Cottonera people) are in the right we will not bend. It is in our blood." He insisted that when somebody from Cottonera is victimised he becomes a hero for the people. This explains the reason behind the support the Bormla mayor Paul Muscat has received in spite of defying his own party.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici chided the media for perpetuating the stigma on Cottonera citizens. "We resent the negative descriptions," Dr Mifsud Bonnici remarked. “Cottonera citizens are not treated in a fair way.”

Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s years as a candidate on the second district brought him in contact with numerous residents in the area. He spoke of the time nostalgically and insisted that the people of Cottonera never asked him for favours they did not merit.

"They asked for work because they wanted to work. The people over here have a high work ethic contrary to what the general perception is, but they never asked for things they did not deserve," he stressed proudly.

Education is another pet subject for Dr Mifsud Bonnici. As soon as I brought up the subject he immediately remarked that the time he spent as education minister was the time that gave him most satisfaction in life. He is evidently proud of his achievements as minister of education and culture.

"I worked a lot to transform the education system. Most of the changes I made are still in place," he said. "We used to work earnestly. They were seven years of hard labour," Dr Mifsud Bonnici added while admitting that he had a wonderful team around him at the time.

As minister of education, Dr Mifsud Bonnici was responsible for the Education Act of 1988, which, for the first time, granted professional status to teachers. The legislation had also provided for the setting-up of school councils and the refounding of the University. He is also proud of having provided kindergarten classes for all at age three.

"The Nationalist Party had faith in people. We opened up the education system and made it accessible to everyone. I wanted to expand the specialities in post-secondary schools, however I did not have the time to continue the work I had embarked on," Dr Mifsud Bonnici reminisced.

The discussion turned back to politics. Dr Mifsud Bonnici believes that the tit-for-tat in politics, which has characterised the debate over recent years, is a result of the circumstances that occurred in 1998.

"Alfred Sant helped to reduce the political heat with his moderate image. However, he toughened up his attitude after losing the 1998 election. This is understandable because he lost the election early in the legislature when only the negative measures had been taken," Dr Mifsud Bonnici explained.

No discussion about politics is complete without mentioning the European Union issue. The seasoned lawyer believes that the people are uninformed on the issue. "There is no respected fountain of objective information," he mused. "The debate should be conducted on an analytical basis after negotiations are complete," he insisted.

Having entered politics in 1966, Dr Mifsud Bonnici inherited the political mantle from his deceased father, known in Bormla as ‘Il-Gross’.

"I entered politics after Independence, almost 20 years after my father’s death. However, people still had high expectations of me. My father came at a different time and he held progressive social ideas. People simply loved him," Dr Mifsud Bonnici recalled.

The political mantle has now passed on to Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s son, Carmelo who got elected to parliament for the first time in 1998 on the Nationalist Party ticket.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici insisted that he never interfered with his son’s decisions. "Unfortunately Carmelo suffers from comparisons that people make with myself. It is always the same when politics runs through the family," he admitted.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s premature exit from politics has certainly not dampened his active nature. One thing is certain, we will definitely see him around every now and then, pushing forward his arguments and ideas. The ‘political infection’ is not over yet.