Years after leading their parties and the country through one of the most heated and turbulent periods in history, in 2014 Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici and Eddie Fenech Adami clashed publicly one last time. 

Appearing separately on Times of Malta's #TimesTalk, the former prime ministers reminisced about their friendship and camaraderie in their younger days, but at the same time accused one another of being corrupt by being lenient to violence and corruption that favoured their respective parties.

Throughout, both defended themselves from each other’s allegations with the grit and verve that characterised their political careers.

Mifsud Bonnici, who served as prime minister between December 1984 and May 1987 after he was chosen by Dom Mintoff as his successor, died on Saturday, aged 89.

Fenech Adami would defeat Mifsud Bonnici at the polls in 1987 and take over from him as prime minister. The Labour leader resigned following another defeat in 1992, to be succeded by Alfred Sant. 

The 2014 clash between the two stemmed from a line in Fenech Adami's biography, in which he wrote that while he had no doubt that Mifsud Bonnici was financially clean, he was nonetheless one of the most corrupt politicians in history because he had turned a blind eye to corruption that suited his party. 

Mifsud Bonnici fought back: “Eddie was one of the most divisive opposition leaders, because the psychological and material violence, the terrorist attacks that happened during his tenure as opposition leader were never witnessed in political history,” Mifsud Bonnici said.

Politics, he added, had revealed bad qualities in Fenech Adami that he [Mifsud Bonnici] had never noticed in their friendship.

He suggested that it was, in fact, Fenech Adami who was lenient to corruption, because the violence was the making of PN sympathisers and Fenech Adami allowed it to happen regardless.

In a swift reply, Fenech Adami denied that he or anyone in his party ever supported or triggered violence.

“Unfortunately we lived through a time when violence had become common and I think there were some who tried to retaliate, but neither I, nor anybody in the PN were at any moment in favour of using violence,” he said.

Mifsud Bonnici went on to describe Fenech Adami as ‘prim giddieb’ (prime liar) and Fenech Adami fired back, saying Mifsud Bonnici was an idealist for whom the end justified the means, even if it meant removing him in what he viewed as the interests of the country.