I am referring to the recent publication of Francis Galea’s book about Malta’s Partit Laburista titled Bejn L-Erba’ Ħitan Tal-Partit Laburista: 1928-1944.

The author, with the help of researchers and many contributors and his detailed exposé, uncovers many layers which shed light on the foundations and workings of the then Malta Labour Party, a political movement which, like many other parties in Malta, paved the way of modern Maltese politics and history.

Like any movement in life, the Malta Labour Party was conceived at a crucial point in time – a perfect storm surrounding the upheaval caused by the events of June 7, 1919.

The birthing of the MLP is somewhat unique in politics because a woman was involved. This may sound very unusual to a modern reader or thinker.

The woman in question was Carmela Maria Bencini.

The enigma regarding this woman can only be understood in the context of the Sette Giugno 1919 which, from my family sources and anecdotes, changed the woman’s mindset and set the course of a new journey in politics which eventually impacted the general population.

The contract which highlights the germination of the Malta Labour Party on October 12, 1920, has come to light very recently thanks to Michael Buhagiar and Joan Abela.

The name of Carmela Bencini cropped up as she was instrumental in financially backing the then Camera Del Lavoro. The reaction that a woman was involved did surprise many.

Who was Carmela Bencini?

Carmela Bencini was born in Żejtun on November 27, 1856. Her parents were notary Giovanni Battista Micallef-Grimaud of Cospicua and Maria Esther Farrugia De Domenico of Senglea. 

Carmela’s mother died when she was very young. As a result, she was raised in the household of her cousin Giuseppe Bencini of Cospicua, who eventually became her husband. The marriage dispensation records, which allow relatives to marry, are truly phenomenal. There are a lot of details explaining the reasons why Carmela was allowed to marry her first cousin. The mother of Giuseppe was the sister of the father of Carmela. This may be surprising to many today but many Maltese, through the generations of ancestry, got innumerable dispensations to marry into the family.

Francis Galea’s book about Malta’s Partit Laburista titled Bejn L-Erba’ Ħitan Tal-Partit Laburista: 1928-1944.

Carmela Micallef-Grimaud married her cousin Giuseppe Marcello Bencini (born September 20, 1843) in 1876 in Cospicua. The couple had four children out of many more who died in childbirth.

At the age of 20, when Carmela got married, she inherited a small coach house – a nest egg which she sold to encourage her husband to seek better fortune overseas. It is recounted that this very act laid the foundation of her husband’s eventual fortune when both emigrated to Egypt for greener pastures.

Giuseppe and Carmela followed in the same footsteps of thousands of Maltese emigrants who settled in Tunisia, Algeria, Corfu and Egypt in the mid-19th century where there was ample demand for work.

Carmela used to recount the travails she and her husband experienced in a country away from home. Her husband had a successful business as a caterer to the British army then stationed in Khedive Egypt.

Like many Maltese emigrants, the couple felt the nostalgia to return to the motherland in the late 19th century. Giuseppe set up house on St Barbara’s Bastions in Valletta. He invested in real estate and lived comfortably on the proceeds.

Once on the island, Giuseppe got involved in the political scene. Contrary to what many today may believe, the Maltese had an amicable working relationship with the British colonial administration.

The British relied very heavily on Maltese workmanship, technology and knowhow especially in the dockyard which was crucial to the running of the naval establishment on the island.

Eventually, Giuseppe was elected in the first district to the Council of Government from the 1890s to the 1900s. Like most Maltese politicians at the time, he relinquished his seat under protest when the colonial administration did not fulfil promises of self-government. (All this can be corroborated in Rajt Malta Tinbidel by Herbert Ganado.)

The only hitch most Maltese had with the British was the lack of self-governing privileges.

Carmela Bencini with her four sons in 1911, after the death of her husband.

In this political context as well as religious ones, the relations of the Maltese with their British overlords was like a love-hate relationship. And this is where the mentality of many Maltese, including Carmela and her husband, fell.

Religion also played a crucial role because religion not only appealed to the spiritual but it also appealed to the patriotic and political spheres because it was a great shield against the intrusion of foreign value systems. After all, it is very telling that the Labour Party itself was founded on a very Catholic and papal document – the Rerum Novarum not the Das Kapital.

Carmela was very proactive in encouraging all her children in the political field.

After the Sette Giugno

What changed everything was the fateful day of June 7, 1919. Carmela was in the house on St Barbara’s Bastions when the shooting started.

It is also recalled that she heard the shattering noise of the grand piano which was thrown out of Francia House in front of the then opera house when it crashed onto the street.

Her son Gianni rushed to his mother’s place where his daughter also resided and recounted the sad events of the day. This was a turning point as it galvanised the people to do something about this tragic turn of events, the eventual baptism of fire of modern Maltese politics.

Carmela opened the doors of her residence at 25, St Barbara’s Bastions, Valletta, and the first meetings of the Partit Laburista were held there. The building still stands.

Carmela welcomed tradespeople and workers to organise their meetings which eventually led to the creation of the Partit Tal-Ħaddiema. Carmela contributed funds to ensure that the Partit Tal-Ħaddiema, which was in its infancy, got a head start in the political sphere after 1919. Her son, Gianni Bencini, became one of the official founders of the Partit Laburista.

What led Carmela in her venture to encourage the founding of the Partit Laburista was her deep respect for the worker and her deep faith in the Catholic doctrine of Rerum Novarum, the encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, whose scope was to address the wretched conditions of the working class at the time and to seek remedial justice for workers.

Carmela was a very avantgarde woman for her time but, in a sense, she does represent the strong character of the Maltese woman who was always there to promote the interest of the general welfare of her country and citizens especially after the upheaval of June 7, 1919, which moulded a new political establishment in pursuit of liberty and dignity for all Maltese, rich and poor.

In her obituary in 1937, when she died of a short illness at the age of 81, it is stated that she always had an interest and love for Malta.

As the English saying goes, behind a man there is an even stronger woman! And many Maltese women are unsung heroes. And to their credit we have built a great country, the envy of many.

Michel Bencini is Carmela’s great-grandson.