Michael Falzon the 'straight-talker' is laid to rest

Michael Falzon was a “straight-talker” and a man who served his country, the priest celebrating the funeral mass of the former PN minister said.

Falzon, 79, died last week and was laid to rest today. The funeral mass was held at the church of the Divine Mercy in Naxxar and was attended by Opposition leader Bernard Grech and his wife Anne Marie, Speaker Anglu Farrugia and several other dignitaries, including MPs past and present.

Fr Michael recounted an anecdote of when he met Falzon many years ago.

“I was parish priest in Safi and I had expressed my wish of extending the church onto the parvis because it was too small for the growing community. Michael touched his moustache and with his characteristic smile told me, ‘Father, extend the church in whatever direction you want; sideways, backwards but I won’t let you touch the facade because it has architectural value’,” the priest recounted. “That was Michael for you, honest and straight, something I always respected about him.”

Photo: NET News

The sentiment echoed the words that Falzon’s wife Maryanne and his son David had messaged to the priest ahead of the mass.

Falzon was elected to parliament for the first time in 1976 with the Nationalist Party and kept being elected at each election until 1996.

After the 1987 election victory by the PN, he was appointed infrastructure minister. He subsequently also held the post of environment minister.

He is credited for creating the Planning Authority and the first planning master plan in the early 1990s. The move was intended to remove permitting from the direct hands of the minister. In the 1992 legislature he also served as education minister.

He failed to get elected to parliament the 1996 general election and unsuccessfully contested the first European election held in 2004 on the PN ticket.

In 2011, along with developer Sandro Chetcuti, he helped set up the Malta Developers Association, which went on to become a strong lobby group for developers and the construction industry.

With an eye for journalism and analysis, Falzon had set up The People, a short-lived English language newspaper in the mid-1990s.

Sought after as a political analyst in TV debates, Falzon’s last appearance on the screen was on Xtra. He shared his views on current affairs, politics and international happenings every Sunday in his column on MaltaToday.