Requiem for a Parliament

As of today, Parliament will start meeting in the new Renzo Piano-designed building at the capital’s entrance, the first time in its 94-year history that Parliament will convene elsewhere than at the Grandmaster’s Palace. 

The first Parliament was formed in 1921, after Leo Amery, under-secretary of state for the British colonies, convinced Britain to grant Malta a form of national government. Malta was granted its first Constitution, John Howard was elected Head of Ministry, and Edgar Arrigo elected as the first Speaker of the House.

In its first sitting, Parliament debated the “Declaration of Faith” and agreed to send a telegram to the Pope, requesting that he bless the new Parliament. In the following Sitting, the government moved the first reading of the first Bill, that of making Roman Catholicism the recognised religion in Malta. 

The Parliament originally consisted of two Houses; a lower Legislative Assembly with elections every three years, and an upper Senate with elections every six years. The Senate was rescinded in 1933, following an update to the Constitution. 

Back then, and until 1976, Parliament met in the Tapestry Chamber, formerly the Council Chamber of the Order of St John, grandly decorated with Flemish tapestries. However, it was cramped for that purpose, its small size was evident from the start and in 1922 then-Opposition leader Gerald Strickland complained that there was no room for members of the public to observe Parliamentary debates. He therefore moved a motion ‘humbly, calling upon the Governor to allow the use of the Auberge de Castille for parliamentary sittings’. The motion failed, with several MPs not wanting to appear as though they were surrendering their rights over a building used for civil government. 

In 1976, two years after Malta became a Republic, the House of Representatives finally changed its meeting chamber, moving a short distance to the room in the Grandmaster’s Palace that used to house the Knights’ Armoury. Under the Republican Constitution, the number of MPs increased from 50 to 65. In 1995, eight standing parliamentary committees were set up, improving Parliament’s consultation with experts and civil society. 

On 1 April, 2015, Parliament met in the former armoury for what was planned to be the final time. In this sitting, a Bill aimed at protecting the rights of people to their self-determined gender identity was made law.  

However, MPs were recalled from their Easter recess to meet in the armoury on 24 April for one final time – to discuss the resolutions of an extraordinary EU summit on the deaths of hundreds of undocumented migrants in the Mediterranean. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat therefore became the last MP to deliver a speech in the Grandmaster’s Palace. 

Grand inauguration ceremony today

MPs and Speaker Anglu Farrugia will meet up at the doors of the former armoury today at 3:30pm to walk towards the Palace’s main entrance, passing the Tapestry Chamber. Once outside the Palace, a guard of the Malta Armed Forces will present the key to the old chamber’s doors to a guard of the Malta Police Force, symbolising the transfer of responsibility for the Palace’s security.

The MPs and the Speaker will then walk along Republic Street to the new Parliament, accompanied by a guard of honour and the Malta Police Force Band. 

The Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation will then deliver a presentation of the new Parliament, whose construction they had been tasked with overseeing.

Anglu Farrugia and President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca will deliver short speeches, and a guard of the Malta Police Force will hand Farrugia the key to the new Parliamentary Chamber. Coleiro Preca will unveil a plaque, Archbishop Charles Scicluna will bless the building, and Farrugia will lead those present to the new Chamber. An open hour-long reception will be held here, before the first parliamentary sitting in the new building takes place, as usual at 6pm. 

Ugo Mifsud Bonnici: Nationalist MP: (1966-1987), Education Minister: (1987-1990), Education and Interior Minister: (1990-1992), Education and Human Resources Minister: (1992-1994), President: (1994-1999)

Two particular parliamentary sittings stick out for me. In 1974, two-thirds of Parliament voted in favour of transforming Malta’s status from a constitutional monarchy into a republic. Despite heated debates, both sides of the House managed to unite and vote in favour of continuity in a sitting that I consider as an honour to the country.

In 1987, we voted in favour of amending the constitution so that if a party receives most votes but not the most seats, its seats would be increased until it gained a majority. That was a crucial step in electoral proportionality.

There were times, unfortunately, when words came to blows and debates became physically violent. Although I never attacked anyone, I did find myself on the receiving end. I will not speak badly of my aggressors though, as some of them have passed away, and I don’t speak ill of the dead.

Joe Debono Grech

Joe Debono Grech: Labour MP: (1976-present), Parastatal and People’s Investment Minister: (1983), Agriculture and Fisheries Minister: (1983-1987), Transport Minister: (1996-1998)

The day two-thirds of Parliament voted in favour of becoming a republic stands out for me. It was a break from the past and a step towards a new life, at a time when warnings were rife that a split from the monarchy would lead to Maltese people dying of hunger. 

However, there were other important parliamentary debates that few still remember. In the 1970s, Parliament updated the laws under which people caught committing adultery or homosexual acts were subject to imprisonment.

Parliament would be monotonous if not for its great debaters, and the House has been blessed with excellent debaters, such as George Borg Olivier, Agatha Barbara, Guido de Marco, Guze Cassar and Giovanni Felice. 

There were a few things that had bothered me here and there, but if I had the chance I’d do it all over again.