Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici: A Very Brief Analysis

Having grown up in a family that strongly detested the Malta Labour Party, my first impressions of Dr Mifsud Bonnici were far from being positive. He was the Prime Minister of Malta while I was still a child and he was depicted by many individuals as one of the most evil people in the country.

I fell in love with politics from a very early age. Virtually all the members of my family were also quite passionate about anything political. While other children were only interested in playing with toy soldiers or reading comics, I used to love listening to political hymns and attending public meetings.

It was only after I started analysing the ideological differences between being a right-wing and a left-wing supporter that I decided to do my own research about Malta's political history. There is no doubt that the political violence which occurred during the late 1970s and throughout most of the 1980s characterised one of the darkest chapters in Maltese history. A detailed look at those sad events is beyond the aim of this post and I will, therefore, avoid discussing them here. I am still learning more about certain events and I am strongly confident that as more stories are heard during the coming years, an increasing number of people will be able to view that part of the country's history more objectively.

Turning to Dr Mifsud Bonnici, I believe that even though he might not have been able to prevent various outbreaks of violence in the country when he was a Prime Minister, I think that he was a person who worked hard to teach the Maltese people about the beauty of the socialist ideology. Like any other human being, he was not perfect; some serious mistakes might have been committed when dealing with certain issues, but the most important thing is to learn from such errors so that they are not repeated in the future.

Whoever would like to learn more about Dr Mifsud Bonnici should read the book Karmenu: Is-Snin tat-Thejjija. The book is a collection of speeches that he gave in various parts of the country. I have decided to quote a couple of excerpts to demonstrate his commitment to transforming the Maltese society into a perfectly socialist one:

"Ahna niftahru mad-dinja kolha, ma ghandna xejn li jhammrilna wiccna li nghidu, li t-taghlim ghalina ma ghandux ikun mezz ta' negozju u lanqas mezz li jifred klassi minn ohra. Ahna nemmnu li t-taghlim ghandu jkun b'xejn ghal kulhadd, bhal ma ghandha tkun b'xejn ghal kulhadd il-kura tal-mard." ("We boast to all the countries of the world that we have nothing to be ashamed of when we say that education should not be used as a money-making tool or to create class distinctions. We believe that education should be free for everyone, just as healthcare should be free for all people.")

"Ftakru li dik [l-imhabba lejn il-proxxmu taghna] hija l-arma, dak huwa li jaghraf it-twemmin taghna minn twemminijiet ohrajn, minn partiti ohrajn, minn ideologiji ohrajn. L-imhabba kbira lejn ghajrna, li naghtu servizz lil haddiehor, li nghinu lil haddiehor fil-bzonn. Min m'ghandux bzonn ma jistenniex li ahna nghinuh imma min ghandu bzonn, ghax ahna Socjalisti, jistenna li jsib l-ghajnuna." ("Remember that that [loving one's neighbour] is the instrument, that is what distinguishes what we believe in from other beliefs, political parties, and ideologies. The great love towards our neighbours, giving a service to others, helping those in need. Whoever does not need help does not expect us to help them, but - as Socialists - whoever needs help expects to find it.")

In future, I will quote more sections from Dr Mifsud Bonnici's speeches to show that - like Mr Mintoff - he was also an advocate of Socialism.

Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmelo_Mifsud_Bonnici