‘Under Sant, Malta had no vision’ - Eddie Fenech Adami

The highly-anticipated autobiography of former prime minister and president of the Republic Eddie Fenech Adami, 'Eddie - My Journey', will be launched on Friday and, much like its author, it pulls no punches.

Fenech Adami, a figure synonymous with local politics for the best part of forty years, discusses, amongst other events, Alfred Sant's ill-fated two-year spell as prime minister, the build-up to Dom Mintoff's intervention in 1998 which brought down the Labour government, and his own early - and often difficult - years in politics.

Whilst admitting that his Nationalist government which lost the 1996 election had its faults, Fenech Adami said that he had not expected the Labour government to be in such a 'pitiful state' after only being in power for a year.

"We had our faults as a government, but at least we had a strategy and knew where we were going," he writes. "Under Sant, Malta had no vision for the future,"

Fenech Adami said that, by that time, the prospect of European Union membership had become an inevitable scenario and writes that the PN had urged Alfred Sant to change his stance opposing accession to the EU.

And much like the last legislature of Lawrence Gonzi - Fenech Adami's successor - will be remembered by many for the internal conflict between the party's leader and disgruntled backbenchers, Alfred Sant's Labour government of 1996 included one, rather opinionated politician too.

Dom Mintoff, an MP in Sant's government, also happened to be the former leader of the Labour party and former prime minister of the country during the 1970s and early years of the 80s.

In 'Eddie - My Journey', Fenech Adami recalls how Dom Mintoff had been showing signs of disgruntlement 'for some time'.

"The two never liked each other and the rift was becoming more pronounced," Fenech Adami says of the relationship between Sant and Mintoff.

"Mintoff was openly expressing displeasure: firstly because Sant never consulted him; secondly, because he claimed that certain conditions he had set before agreeing to stand as a candidate in the 1996 election were not being honoured."

Fenech Adami considered it a 'big mistake' of Mintoff to have remained in parliament after having left office.

"When one resigns, one should leave the political stage," he opines. "Mintofff was breathing down Sant's neck, which is the last thing any leader would want."

Perhaps most interesting of all, Fenech Adami recalls a meeting he had with Mintoff prior to the 1998 budget.

"Mintoff had been meeting Guido (de Marco) on and off, but then decided, with his usual urgency, that he wanted to see me... he wanted us to take a common stand with him on the EU, in writing, to get negotiations going, and said we must stick to it come what may."

"Displaying obvious reluctance, I said 'What would Sant have to say about such a thing?' His response was typically combative; he asked me if I was afraid to bring down the government."

Although, Fenech Adami claims to have been reluctant about gaining power through an agreement with Mintoff, ('I wanted to force a change of policy on our own terms'), he writes that a PN win in the local council elections with 54% of the votes, served as a clear indication that the Labour government was losing much of its popularity.

"From our opinion polls, it was also emerging that a significant number of people had regretted not voting for the Nationalist Party in the previous general election."

Mintoff voted with government in a second budget vote, allowing Alfred Sant to 'limp into the new year', but it was not long before Mintoff acted on his warning of a few months earlier.

"However, none of us imagined that a proposal to redevelop the Cottonera waterfront would be the straw that breaks the camel's back."

Eddie - My Journey, published by Allied Publications and printed by Progress Press, is available for the pre-publication price of €37 from BDL Books, Tel. 21380351 or www.bdlbooks.com After the book's launch on Friday, it will also be available from all major bookshops. Proceeds ofrom the sale of the book are going to Dar tal-Providenza.