25 years later

It was on Wednesday, October 29, 1980, that Dr George Borg Olivier passed away. Two days later, the first part of his funeral had taken place when thousands of people thronged the streets of Valletta to pay him a fitting tribute. The next day he was laid in state at the entrance of the Palace and the funeral proceeded in the afternoon. The government, then led by Dom Mintoff, had decided to give Dr Borg Olivier a state funeral.

A quarter of a century later a number of events are being organised by the Nationalist Party to pay tribute to one of Malta's finest statesmen. Moreover, last Wednesday a biography was launched at the Palace under the patronage of the President of Malta. The biography has been entrusted to Professor Henry Frendo, who has carried out painstaking research that is objective, accurate and does not miss out on any important detail.

The biography, entitled Patrijott Liberali Malti - Bijografija ta' Gorg Borg Olivier (1911-1980) is a most welcome edition to our Melitensia and enriches our knowledge and appreciation of contemporary history.

When I became active within the Nationalist Party in 1974, Dr Borg Olivier was still party leader. I remember him well. On September 21, 1974, I was on my way to attend my first Independence Day mass meeting addressed by Dr Borg Olivier at Blata l-Bajda, when I was attacked by some Labour Party thugs. They wanted to punish me because a few days earlier I had spoken about the cultural significance of independence at a Nationalist Party event at the Plaza cinema in Sliema. During that attack one of them even said that I would not be able to make another speech!

Clearly that "prophecy" has not materialised and I have not exactly heeded the warning I received that day or, for that matter, on various other similar occasions.

That episode (recalled in Frendo's book, p. 362) had happened in the afternoon. That morning I had seen a Nationalist demonstration to commemorate Independence Day anniversary being disrupted in Republic Street, as was then the pattern, thanks to the tolerated and encouraged violence by well known Labour supporters.

George had expressed his concern and solidarity with all those who suffered violence merely for having the courage to see it that Malta commemorates its birth as a nation. It was then not enough for the Labour Government to have changed our National Day twice (a third change was to follow in 1979) to avoid any official celebrations of Independence Day. The same government would also tolerate and encourage thugs to disrupt our commemorations of the event and the police would always intervene to protect the violent offenders rather than the peaceful demonstrators.

Since my baptism of fire in the party ranks in 1974, I never looked back. I used to meet George regularly, not least when I used to present the 'Miss Nationalist' annual contest, apart from meeting in anticipation of that event at the Osborne Hotel, then run by its owner Ralph Arrigo (Robert's father), as well as at many other party events.

What used to strike me most is that although I was totally green and very young in the party (without any sectional committee, let alone central committee credentials, and without any party candidate status or other relevant title!), Dr Borg Olivier would accept my humble invitation to come home once a year during Christmas time to join the family for a drink.

A close friend of mine who had then encouraged me to start taking an active part in politics, Ray Bondin, had done the initial introductions. Ray knew George closely and his late father used to drive George to many events, including his annual visit to my family around Christmas time.

There was a very important lesson to be drawn from all this. When you are in public office, you must always remain close to the people. Every person has his own significance. George was not only close to the people but he also exuded genuine warmth and charisma to all those who came close to him.

The other important lesson to be drawn is that one must persevere even when one is faced with tough opposition and obstacles from different quarters. On the day following George's passing away, his successor as party leader, Dr Eddie Fenech Adami, had delivered a heartfelt and moving message to party officials and sectional committee members who gathered at PN headquarters.

Dr Fenech Adami observed that as far as he was concerned Dr Borg Olivier's outstanding quality was his tenacity. "He would never lose heart before reaching the goal that he would be aiming for," Dr Fenech Adami explained.

Another superb quality for which George will always be remembered is his sense of honesty, total political correctness. At the book launch last Wednesday, Dr Victor Ragonesi recalled an episode (also quoted in the book, p. 181) when Dr Borg Olivier was in London and was invited to a dinner where an attempt was made to bribe him in order to have his acquiescence to Mr Mintoff's Integration proposal. He was promised a house in the UK for which he would not have to pay, the best college education for his children, which would also be paid for, a seat in the House of Commons, and the role of adviser to various companies to ensure that he would be able to live comfortably.

His reply was that he thought that he was invited to dinner by gentlemen, that he never expected to be insulted in this manner, and left the house where he had been invited.

As we commemorate Dr Borg Olivier, a quarter of a century after his demise, the qualities of keeping close to the people, being tenacious in achieving one's goals, and equally ensuring that one keeps the high moral ground are among the best legacies he has bequeathed to all those who wish to make out of politics a correct way of life. Those who think otherwise should simply not choose the path of public life.

We owe the birth of our country as a nation state to Dr Borg Olivier. I am proud that I had entered politics to defend the commemoration of that birth which in turn we owe to George. But then his legacy goes well beyond that. It is a legacy of correct and exemplary behaviour in public life. It is a legacy that proves that politics is a lifelong mission when taken seriously.

Right now there is much talk of the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta next month. Our very membership of the Commonwealth is one of the results of Malta's becoming independent in line with the vision pursued by George Borg Olivier.

As I was going through some past papers I came across an episode that possibly combines in an excellent manner our commemoration of George as well as our celebration of the forthcoming CHOGM and our membership of the European Union.

After winning the 1962 general election, Dr Borg Oliver, anticipating Malta's independence, had attended a Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in September of that year which was interestingly enough convened to discuss Britain's application to join the European Economic Community, as the EU was then known.

Speaking at a reception at the European Atlantic Group for Commonwealth Prime Ministers at Overseas House, St James, Dr Borg Olivier supported British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's efforts to join the EEC, and said: "Britain like Malta is an offshore island in Europe... Can Britain or Malta afford to keep away from a strong and up-and-coming United Europe? Britain should be given the credit of having made the right decision, she is very directly concerned and the Commonwealth should make it easier for her to succeed in this..."

Dr Borg Olivier not only envisaged independence for Malta within the Commonwealth, but also that Malta would immediately embark on its road to join the European Union.

It has taken a few years since the 1962 speech by Dr Borg Olivier for the UK, and even longer for Malta, to join the EU. Now we're both pro-active in the Commonwealth as well as in the EU.

An important quality of a visionary leader is to be able to set a direction well before that actually begins to take shape and be implemented. Looking back, we recognise more easily the quality of a leader's vision. An excellently researched, documented, analytical as well as pleasantly written biography such as the one just produced by Henry Frendo makes it that much easier for us to look back more diligently and profoundly. Equally, we look forward, enriched by the wisdom that is gained in this process.

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