Saturday 4th April will see the end of a long and successful political career for Dr.Eddie Fenech Adami. Love him or hate him – and it seems these are the only two available options, in a country still viscerally split down the middle – few would deny that Eddie Fenech Adami has shaped Malta’s landscape like no other politician: with the possible exception of Dom Mintoff, whose career was longer, though less politically successful.
Eddie's success did not come over night , in his first elections in 1962 and 1966 he failed to get elected to Parliament but he did not give up and was finally by-elected in 1969 . 8 years later he rose up the ranks to take over from George Borg Oliver as party leader . He couldn't have taken up this post in a more dire time , the next ten years would be the darkest time in Malta's political history . Just two years after Eddie became leader (1979) his home was ransacked by Socialist thugs and his wife and kids beaten up . Any normal leader would have flipped in these circumstances but not Eddie he carried on to fight the Mintoff administration . This lead to the 1981 December Election one of the worst scenarios Malta has ever faced . The perverse result in which the Maltese electorate clearly showed their dissaproval at the Mintoff government but still couldn't gain a new government due to less seats lead to chaos in the country. The 5 and a half years to follow still makes people who remember those times tremble . Eddie fought hard to have Justice and Democracy restored in the country , he even took a gamble in boycotting parliament . Eddie alongside his deputy Guidio De Marco saw that constutional arrangments were made so that this result will never be repeated again . Violence and corruption however contiuned . There are some episodes between 1981 and 1987 that makes me thank god that I was not yet born . The murder of Raymond Caruana , The torturing of Antony Mifsud , The frame up of Pietru Pawl Busutill , the terrible incidents at Tal Barrani , the breaking of the Curia and the attack on church schools and the burning down of the Times of Malta building were just the tip of the iceberg. .Finally in 1987 , 16 years of Labour Government were over with the Nationalist Party being led to victory by Eddie .
Eddie as Prime Minister gave Malta a free market economy and allowed foreign trade to enter something which today we take for granted. In his first 9 years as Prime Minister Dr. Fenech Adami completely transformed the country . Even the most red-eyed labour supporters must admit that there was a huge difference from pre-1987. Justice was re-stored in Malta and the police force was re-formed . At the same time the Nationalist government governed with social values unseen in previoius Nationalist governments . The welfare benefeits were kept and even improved . Of course, another huge step was Eddie's decison to take Malta into the EU , a long and hard battle which looked likely to be lost when Alfred Sant took power in 1996 . However Eddie never gave up on this dream and in 2003 this milestone for Malta was finally reached .
I did not however agree with Eddie becoming President since there were better candidates and Eddie does not have the pomp culture that is fit for the title of President however he still did an excellent job as President .
In all my 17 years living in this country I have never seen Eddie Fenech Adami without a position in the country whether it is President , Prime Minister or Leader of Oppostion . As a teenager I would like to thank Dr.Fenech Adami for making Malta the country I have grown to love and appreciate . As we say in maltese "Grazzi Eddie ! '
I would like to end my post by showing two videos of Eddie in his heydays :
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