Guido de Marco's long and distinguished political career
by Saviour Balzan
The person who served as President of the United Nations 45th General Assembly will now definitely be appointed as President of the Republic on 4 April. Former colleague Ugo Mifsud Bonnici will end his five-year term next week. Prof. De Marco's resignation from Parliament has also led to a small but significant reshuffle in the Nationalist cabinet. Prof. De Marco's appointment had not been without controversy and the Labour Party has made it public that they object to Guido De Marco as the Presidential nominee.
De Marco has dominated Maltese parliamentary politics for the last 33 odd years. Together with Eddie Fenech Adami he was the longest serving parliamentarian, having been elected in 1966.
His first electoral experience was in 1962 with Herbert Ganado's party, the Partit Demokratiku Nazzjonalista, a party with a political agenda which stood firmly against Malta's quest for independence.
He later joined the pro-independence Nationalist Party and became its secretary general in 1972 until 1976. And from 1966 to 1998 he never failed to get elected on a Nationalist ticket. In 1964 De Marco was crown counsel but relinquished this post to contest with the PN.
De Marco has always been remembered as an articulate lawyer and he was probably one of the most popular and successful criminal lawyers in the 1970s and early 1980s. His Italianate style of speech as always dominated his delivery.
A combination of oratorical skills and an expert grasp of the criminal code made him to be remembered as one of the more colourful lawyers of the last three decades.
As a politician he was best remembered for his emotive and theatrical speeches in mass meetings clearly aimed at rallying party supporters to militate round a campaign.
His leadership aspirations were made abundantly clear in 1976 when he stood against Eddie Fenech Adami for the post of leader of the Nationalist party. He lost that leadership battle but ever since served as deputy leader of the party.
The image of Eddie Fenech Adami followed by Guido De Marco in the years of political campaigning continued to dominate the media for years on end.
Moulded in our memory are the vivid scenes of both him and Dr Fenech Adami dressed - evidently in bullet proof flak jackets at the Tal-Barrani shooting scene. As a lawyer and opposition politician De Marco championed human rights in the 1980s defending police frame up victims such as Pietru Pawl Busuttil.
Yet, De Marco was never akin to withdraw when consensus was needed. With democracy at a cross road after the murder of a young PN activist, Raymond Caruana, at the Gudja Nationalist club, followed by the timely intervention of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, this led to the setting up of a select committee to amend the constitution avoiding a repetition of the 1981 election. The four members that constituted the select committee included Guido De Marco and Dom Mintoff. The constitutional changes eventually led to the Nationalist Party being elected to government in 1987.
His first ministerial post was as minister of the interior and justice and then in 1990 he was appointed minister for foreign affairs and justice instead of Censu Tabone who had been nominated President. In 1990 he presented Malta's application to join the European Union.
In the following years he travelled tirelessly spreading Malta's new image to a host of nations. His charisma and ability to blend in with diplomats earned him great respect.
In the 1992 elections he suffered a sudden decline in his popularity. Observers attributed this to his constant absence from the islands which had sent a bad signal to his constituents.
But in the national elections in 1996 and again in 1998 he regained electoral support from his die-hard base in two electoral districts. In the last six years he made Malta's EU membership the centre of his political raison d'čtre.
In September 1998 after a return to government brought about by a PN landslide victory he reactivated Malta's application to the European Union and only recently he personally accepted the EU's avis on Malta's EU membership.
On Tuesday evening he delivered a memorable speech in Parliament which covered his career and his views of politics. He also expressed words of praise for the members of Parliament in the House of Representatives including opposition Leader Dr Alfred Sant. Then yesterday he bid farewell to his staff at the Foreign Ministry in a very emotional departure.
Prof. Guido De Marco, born 1931 is married to Violet, and they have a son Mario and two daughters, Fiorella and Giannella.
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