The Politics of Persuasion

Guido de Marco one of Malta’s most influential politicians in the post-Independence era, is perhaps best known for his key role in the drive to take Malta into the EU. But his contribution to the building of the new Malta goes deeper than that, as he directly shared in the drawing up of the island’s new economic and social architecture in the 33 years he served as a member of parliament, fittingly ending his service to the country as president of Malta.

In these memoirs de Marco displays the same infectious sense of nationalism that had inspired prominent figures in the island’s history. He chronicles the abuse of power and violence that characterized the local scene in past decades, and a constitutional crisis he helped to solve. Personal brushes with death, while visiting foreign lands as President of Malta and the UN General Assembly are vividly recounted, as is the excitement of the wind of change across Europe. Weaved into all this is de Marco’s belief in the politics of persuasion.