The minority government of Dr. Enrico Mizzi in 1950

Abstract

Enrico Mizzi plays a major role in Maltese history during the period 1917-1950. Up to 1942 Mizzi was co-leader of the Nationalist Party with Sir Ugo Mifsud. In 1924 he formed part of the Government of Dr. Francesco Buhagiar as Minister of Industry and Commerce. When in the same year Sir Ugo Mifsud became Prime Minister, Mizzi continued in this post. In 1932 he was Minister of Commerce and Public Education. During this time Enrico Mizzi had assumed the role of Acting Prime Minister whenever Sir Ugo Mifsud was away from the Island. After the suspension of the Constitution in 1933, Mizzi was under attack from his political adversaries and even underwent internment and deport during the War. He. became Prime Minister in 1950, and although he was only in office leading a Minority Government for three months, he can be said to have impressed the political scene with his principles and dedication. The Court Martial of Enrico Mizzi in 1917 and his internment and deportation during the Second World War, serve as sufficient evidence of the strength of Mizzi's convictions, although very often they were not supported by the majority of the population. The later part of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries in Malta were dominated by the Constitutional issue and the Language Question. Mizzi's fight to protect the Italian Language in Maltese society subdued and gave way to a more moderate policy when in 1950 he was faced with the problem of trying to legislate with only a minority backing him in the Legislative Assembly [...].