US embassy cables | Mintoff forced ambassador’s recall after leaking Felice visit to De Marco

The late Nationalist MP Mario Felice’s visit in March 1978 to the United States’ ambassador to Nato on the request of Labour prime minister Dom Mintoff cost him re-election in 1981. A man of his own mind, he nurtured an important relationship with the fiery premier, suffering the consequences of the partisan divide.

Now for the first time, new diplomatic cables from 1978 released by the National Archives of the US recount in detail the unofficial, private visit Felice had with the US permanent representative to Nato William Tapley Bennett, on Mintoff’s authorisation.

Seminally, it was a meeting intended at lobbying American support for Mintoff’s neutrality aid package in the hope that Italian, German and French leaders would accede to Malta’s request for financial aid.

But, contrary to Mintoff’s firebrand rhetoric against the West, Felice conveyed the message that the US should “play a role in assisting Malta economically after British departure in 1979.”

“Felice emphasised that Mintoff had recently split with Gaddafi because the latter had rejected any compromise on the median line [dispute] and refused to submit issue to the ICJ. MIntoff accordingly, is no longer buying oil from Libya.”

Felice was said to have told Bennett that time was running out for the Maltese economy, with the British departure in 1979 threatening jobs.

“Feliece said discussions with European allies on assistance are not going well. French have too many problems of their own. Italy wants to help but doesn’t have sufficient resources, and the Germans have not been specific on either time or amount…

“Mintoff’s position is becoming desperate and his remaining options are few and increasingly undesirable.”

Felice suggested that Malta wanted to retain its pro-West orientation, and urged the US to assist Malta, even indirectly through Nato allies.

“He stressed Malta’s strategic importance, reiterated Mintoff’s desire for a dialogue and asked again if US could not play a part.”

In his cable to Washington, Benett however suggested that the “sincere” Felice had also come across as a “self-promoter” whose approach carried a “hint of blackmail”, but did not elaborate any further.

Felice ‘found out’

On 5 May, Mintoff called Laingen to tell him that Italian ambassador Eric Da Rin had informed the PN deputy leader Guido de Marco of Felice’s visit to Washington.

“This, said Mintoff, was a most unfortunate development and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. I told Mintoff I had not informed any other Maltese of this exercise. I had briefed my Italian colleague because I felt that our Italian allies should be aware of this development. I had also briefed the British,” Laingen wrote in his cable.

“I emphasised to Da Rin that I had not informed the Nationalist leadership and that the matter should be very closely held. I also told Mintoff that I thought he had to recognise that such a mission could not indefinitely remain secret in any event.”

To this Mintoff said he took exception that it should be the Italian ambassador to report the meeting to the PN.

Laingen later faced Da Rin at a social function. The Italian said that he “had casually commented to De Marco one evening that the Nationalists appeared to be increasingly open to Mintoff’s concept,” citing Felice’s trip to Washington.

The next day Da Rin informed the US ambassador that he was being recalled to Italy, because of “collusion” with the Opposition. The previous day he had been told at midnight by Attorney General Edgar Mizzi that Mintoff believed he should be withdrawn from Malta.

Letter from Carter

Felice later would travel to Washington in April 1978 to deliver a letter from Mintoff, to secretary of state Cyrus Vance.

While Vance would refuse in acceding to financial requests from Mintoff on development projects, insisting that the US will not be drawn into Malta’s demands for European money, Mintoff would be regaled with a letter of “encouragement” from President Jimmy Carter for his neutrality proposal – a letter which he used much to his political advantage, much to the Nationalists’ dismay.

“We believe your European friends and neighbours have direct interest in Malta’s future. We are of course sympathetic to Malta’s efforts to assure the economic wellbeing of its citizens, following the closing of the British/Nato base in 1979,” Carter wrote.

When Laingen delivered the letter on 12 May, Mintoff was quick to receive him. “This is a very nice letter,” he told the ambassador.

“He had no specific comment or question beyond that,” Laingen reported.

Felice later told Laingen that Mintoff had not expected such a good response, and suggested a follow-up meeting for Mintoff. “We told Felice we were glad the letter was seen in a positive way… the President’s letter was positive in tone but it did not go beyond reaffirming what our policy has been.”

Both Eddie Fenech Adami and Censu Tabone called on the US ambassador in Malta Bruce Laingen, to protest at the letter in July 1978.

They complained that Mintoff was making it appear that Carter had endorsed his policy of equal treatment of the two superpowers. Tabone’s request to have Fenech Adami visit Washington was gently refused: Mintoff himself had not yet been invited.

Felice-Mintoff friendship

Felice was a fervent supporter of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation; as the president of the Malta branch of the Atlantic Treaty Association, he visited the White House in 1969 as a member of an ATA delegation.

But he also met Mintoff quite regularly for long discussions, and was privately quite contemptuous of PN leader Gorg Borg Olivier.

When Felice stated in parliament that he opposed Mintoff’s policy of excluding Nato Sixth Fleet from visits to Malta, in a brief personal exchange as they were leaving parliament, Mintoff jokingly asked Felice if he would cross the floor and join Labour if he allows the Sixth Fleet.