Tonio Borg urges MPs to 'embrace' their beliefs

"I will never forget where I started from. The distance from my motherland will only strengthen the love I have for Malta," Tonio Borg said in his last address as an MP in Parliament, as he preparedto formally take up office as EU commissioner for health and consumer policy in Brussels.

Saying that is was only a 'see you soon' and not a goodbye, Borg called on MPs to embrace their beliefs because "these beliefs are what have made us", he said in a veiled reference to the opposition that he met in Brussels prior to his appointment after MEPs called in question his conservative views on divorce and gay rights, and opposition to abortion.

Borg said despite all the difficulties politicians face, his political career was worthwhile because of the satisfaction earned out of "helping people achieve what they deserve."

He said the saddest part of his departure from Parliament will be the detachment from the eighth and eleventh district electorate.

"The biggest honour and privilege is not being minister, but being an MP. In the last 20 years I have been honoured and privileged to be the representative of my electoral districts for five consecutive elections," Borg said.

He said that everything comes to an end and citing former UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson's famous quote, he said "a week is a long time in politics" and described how he unexpectedly found himself studying to become Health and Consumer Policy commissioner.

"Here I am, after serving as an MP for 20 years making my last speech. I remember my first speech in April 1992 and I had said that we are not celebrating the victory or loss of a political party but we were celebrating democracy."

A self-declared conservative, Borg said "I have tried my best as MP and minister to act genuinely and I ask for forgiveness if I have hurt anyone."  

He added that Malta did not join the EU with empty luggage but "with our beliefs which some are shared and some are different."

Borg expressed satisfaction over the reforms and laws he piloted, such as those for the police force, the law courts and the prison reforms in his years as Minister of Justice and Home Affairs. 

Borg said that he wished to have been nominated Commissioner in different circumstances, but after an uphill struggle "common sense won and showed that people with different beliefs could still be elected."

In the presence of most of the PN Parliamentary group, a few Opposition MPs and a large contingent of  family members and friends in the Strangers' Gallery, Borg sounded emotional and said that he will miss the banter and hot debates in the Maltese Parliament.

The new EU commissioner had special praise for the two PN leaders he served, Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi. He also thanked PN MEPs Simon Busuttil and David Casa for their help in getting him elected as EU commissioner.

"I owe a lot to Eddie Fenech Adami and I have learnt much from him, including the love for country and the sense of service."

Thanking current Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, he said: "I will never forget these last few years and I will never forget his ability to listen to everyone whatever the circumstances were."

He also thanked all MPs who worked alongside him, especially his PN colleagues and contemporaries Speaker Michael Frendo, Gensu Galea and  Francis Zammit Dimech. He also thanked his direct adversaries especially Labour MPs who shadowed his ministerial activities.

Last but not least he thanked his wife Adele for her patience and support. He also thanked his children for their constant support.

Borg will start his work as European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy on Friday following Wednesday's expected approval by the Council of Ministers.

Background

Borg, 55, was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2008 after serving as Home Affairs minister for more than 10 years.

He attended the Jesuit-run St Aloysius College and graduated in law at the University of Malta in 1979. He practised law at the Courts of Justice between 1980-1995 specialising in human rights cases.

His activity in politics started at University where he was active in the Christian Democratic Students organisation (SDM); he also participated in student politics serving as  member of the Kunsill Studenti Universitarji.

He joined the Nationalist Party aged 17, occupying several posts within the Nationalist Party Youth Movement, including that of Secretary General and President.  He served as  a member of the PN Executive since 1978.

He was first elected to Parliament in 1992 on the eighth electoral district and was then elected in all subsequent general elections in 1996, 1998, 2003 and 2008.

In March 2004 he was elected Deputy Leader of the Nationalist Party and soon after was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Representatives.

In October 2012 Borg was nominated by the government to replace John Dalli as member of the College of the European Commission, following his predecessor's resignation.

Borg's nomination was the cause of great controversy due to his conservative views and was subject to some tough questioning during his hearing by the Members of the European Parliament. Despite a tough grilling, Borg managed to garner a majority among MEPs and he is now expected to take his seat this week.

He was accused of having openly homophobic views which he expressed in Parliament when he derided the proposal to legislate for gay co-habiting couples. Borg, a staunch Catholic, is also renowned for his strong anti-divorce and anti-abortion stance.

He had proposed to entrench into the Maltese Constitution the sections of the criminal law banning abortion and in 2011 voted against the introduction of divorce, despite it being upheld in a consultative referendum.

Following his resignation from Parliament, his parliamentary seat must be filled in either by holding a casual election or the Nationalist Party could choose to co-opt somebody into parliament directly.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will also have to appoint a new foreign affairs minister and a new leader of the House, unless he chooses to take up the posts himself as he did with the home affairs portfolio following Carm Mifsud Bonnici's resignation.

With Nationalist MP Franco Debono threatening to vote against the budget, it could well mean that Parliament is dissolved in December, if Debono follows through with his threat.

Borg's vacant seat of deputy leader will be filled by the end of thi9s week with the first round of the PN deputy leadership contest being held on Friday. Finance minister Tonio Borg and MEP Simon Busuttil are vying for the post.