Thank you, Lawrence

With Malta PM and friend, Lawrence Gonzi in April 2010

This is a sad day and a happy day for my long-time friend Lawrence Gonzi. He was my classmate at the Minor Seminary years between 1966 and 1968, and we sat in the same bench next to each other in class for two full years. He eventually became a lawyer and entered politics, becoming House Speaker, a member of Parliament, deputy Prime Minister, and finally Prime Minister of Malta in 2004, the same year that Malta became a member of the European Union. He led Malta for the past 9 years as Prime Minister, winning another election for his Nationalist Party in 2008, while losing the last election earlier this year in March.
Well, today Lawrence is officially retiring from Parliament and from politics. He gave his last speech in Parliament today, and as usual, he was emphatic, respectful and loyal to his values, his party and his faith. In an article he wrote today in the Times of Malta, he wrote "Our success as a country has not happened by coincidence. It happened because over the years we have always been guided by a set of values that are of Christian inspiration and are universally accepted even by non-believers: respect for the dignity of every human being in all circumstances; respect for human life, even when still a foetus in the mother's womb; treasuring the family as a social unit that needs constant nurturing; respect for minorities independently of their abilities or disabilities and a host of other fundamental freedoms including those that were severely tested in the 1970s and early 1980s and that motivated me to enter politics."
Happy retirement Lawrence. You surely deserve it!