“I will now start focusing more on my professional life after sacrificing it in recent years. I will still remain at the disposal of anyone who genuinely needs my help, even if I am not as active as I have been in public life. Because helping and being there for those who suffer is part of me and I cannot ignore it,” he said. 

“I will continue to carry on with my duty towards my country with the same commitment, zeal and dedication – even if it is in a different field,” he said. 

“I am confident that in the coming months the results of various magisterial inquiries into who is or has been in public life in more than one party will begin to come out and you will understand why I was very uncomfortable for some and why there was the continuous and rampant attack on me from the Labour camp and elsewhere,” he said. 

“A mixture of emotions. But the biggest one is a great inner serenity that I have carried out my heartfelt duties wherever and whenever I have been called since I was co-opted at the age of 17 in the PN Sectional Committee in Raħal Ġdid,” he expressed. 

He spoke about how he ascended the political ladder step by step, taking in the lessons at every step and learning along the way.

“How can I thank Baby Jesus enough for the lessons learnt over the years?” he said. 

Azzopardi recounted his memories with former President Eddie Fenech Adami, being personally asked by him to contest in the ’96 elections.

“I was asked by Eddie to contest the 1996 general election when I was still a student at the University. I was then elected in the 1998 general election when I was the youngest Member of Parliament at the time. I was re-elected in the 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2017 general elections,” he recounted. 

Azzopardi touched upon almost every experience that he underwent within the Nationalist Party and by extension within Malta’s political sphere. 

“These long years of work have meant sacrifices and lots and lots of work. But most of all, it helped me grow and learn. I am proud to have always looked after my integrity, no matter the lies and slanders I faced from near and far, and no matter how much I risked my life in spite of being left in isolation,” he said. 

“I made mistakes. And I beg your pardon. I don’t apologize to the criminal and the corrupt, though. On the contrary, I assure them that I will continue to see that justice is done and the truth is known. They are who they are. But I have a clear conscience that I have always walked with the right intention.” 

With nominations for the casual elections submitted last week, results have been coming out this morning unveiling who has made it into Malta’s parliament.

What do you make of Azzopardi’s loss?