The foreign connection

As young boys, both Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo and his Labour counterpart Leo Brincat showed a keen interest in current affairs. These days, as they tiptoe cautiously through the myriad of potentially explosive diplomatic incidents, Ariadne Massa finds out that avoiding them completely is next to impossible.

Michael Frendo

As a boy were you interested in what happened in the outside world?

Yes, very much. I loved geography and used to keep up to date with current affairs, which must have made me a pretty boring lad. Fortunately, I was a keen footballer and dabbled in waterpolo and tennis, which may have been the redeeming features.

My worst diplomatic incident was when...

As Minister for the Arts, I was accompanying Queen Elizabeth II to Mdina during her visit in the 1990s. As we were coming out of the Cathedral Museum I noticed that the Queen's car had been completely mobbed by admirers, to the extent that I could not get into the car. The Queen noticed my bewilderment and invited me to get into the car from her door, while she waited. A practical move I suppose, but a major breach of protocol. The only alternative was to trample over hundreds of people rammed against the car.

How many air miles did you clock in 2007?

You must be joking... thousands and more.

Who's the most amusing foreign dignitary?

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Junker, who loves a joke and is always ready with one up his sleeve.

Which languages do you speak?

Maltese, English, Italian and French. I recently gave an off-the-cuff political speech in French because I had no choice: Everyone around the table was speaking in French, the audience was French-speaking, there were no interpreters and, to spare myself the embarrassment, in those circumstances, I was not going to be the "idiot" who speaks in English. Thankfully, it went down well.

How do you prepare yourself against blunders related to a country's customs? What's the worst gaffe you made?

I read up, consult and watch my step. As yet, I do not recall a major gaffe, which has me worried ... I may have made one or two without even noticing, which is far worse.

The war in Iraq...

You'd need to dedicate a few pages to this reply. The biggest war in Iraq is against the country's division and finding a new way to adopt an Iraqi identity, which respects its ethnic and religious diversity.

Which is the one foreign leader you look up to?

Mahatma Gandhi. He is timeless. He put into practice his belief, that the means is part of the end. His struggle for truth in a peaceful proactive open manner is an inspiration for those who refuse to obliterate vision from their political action.

Have you ever taken foreign advice about local matters?

Not really but I have looked into how other foreign affairs' ministries deal with organisation matters. This is often very helpful because there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Of course, adaptation is almost always necessary.

My most tasking mission was...

In London and Kampala, chairing four- to five-hour sessions of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to arrive at a consensus on the Pakistan issue and pushing to "stubbornly" achieve the recent EU-Arab League Ministerial Meeting in Malta.

Leo Brincat

As a boy were you interested in what happened in the outside world?

I always was. I remember regularly buying the Sunday Observer in the pre-CNN days. Since then, I've migrated to various international publications, primarily The New Statesman, and even The Spectator in spite of its conservative views.

My worst diplomatic incident was when...

At Amman Airport they mistook me for a suspected Israeli agent. I had been in Jordan for one day on a Socialist International fact-finding mission, which had taken place in Tel Aviv, Gaza and Amman. When we passed through the Allenby Bridge on a Sabbath, which had been purposely opened for our delegation, the usually very efficient Israeli immigration authorities stamped my passport with the wrong year. The Jordanians, who were still suspicious of the Israelis, despite having just brokered a peace deal, wanted to know what I had been doing in their country for a whole year after having left Israel. In fact, I had been there for less than 24 hours. I was kept in a room under heavy security for an hour or two and almost missed my plane to Cairo.

How many air miles did you clock in 2007?

I never keep track. However, in the latter part of 2007, I cut down on my travelling, since my main focus was on stepping up my home visits.

Who's the most amusing foreign dignitary?

No doubt, John Prescott. He is a man with an engaging sense of humour, rough at the edges, but striking in his own way, with a down-to-earth approach. As far as pocket dictators go, nobody beats Mussolini for his eccentricities.

Which languages do you speak?

My regret is that I learnt Latin, not French, at school. This proves to be a handicap, especially in Francophone Arab countries. Nevertheless, I pick up 70 per cent of what I read in French and Spanish newspapers and magazines. Otherwise, I am fluent in English and Italian.

How do you prepare yourself against blunders related to a country's customs? What's the worst gaffe you made?

I try to do as much background reading as possible. Luckily, the internet makes it far easier these days. My worst gaffe was when I once smoked a cigarette in front of an ageing Soviet leader who was a geriatric case. His security officers soon rectified matters.

The war in Iraq...

Has shown that the Iraqi occupation is a typical example of how much easier it is to wage a war than to manage a post-war scenario. While many, yours truly included, sighed with relief when Saddam Hussein was removed, the occupation showed that there are cultural differences too wide to breach, and far too many good intentions have gone awry.

Which is the one foreign leader you look up to?

This might not sound very imaginative, but Nelson Mandela instantly springs to mind. I also admired Pope John Paul II who some, rightly or wrongly, have described as the most geopolitical Pope. He was a man of vision and inspiration.

Have you ever taken foreign advice about local matters?

Not directly. However, when serving as international secretary of the Malta Labour Party, I have tried to learn about best practices in various pivotal areas.

My most tasking mission was...

My 48-hour, fact-finding mission to Beirut, one month before the recent Lebanese war broke out. I was sent on my own as a Council of Europe rapporteur (and a senior secretariat staffer) to explore ways of closer collaboration between the CoE and the Lebanese Parliament. Although the situation was relatively calm on the surface, you could already feel the tension in the air. My programme entailed meeting all the political forces in the Parliament. I also got to meet leading party chiefs in their private residences up in the mountains, such as Lebanese military commander Michel Aoun. We met surrounded by his bodyguards carrying Kalashnikovs. The cherry on the cake was when a number of parliamentarians treated me to an excellent Lebanese lunch, in the heart of the city, just across the Parliament building... It turned out this was the restaurant where former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri ate 30 minutes before he was blown up.