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MATTHEW VELLA THE pugnacious Dom Mintoff used his negotiating tactics to ex- ploit the Cold War by threatening to drift into the stream of Muam- mar Gaddafi's 'Arab socialism', in a bid to extract as much financial as- sistance as he could from the West. But if there was one tactic he steadily relied on, it was his use of blackmail in threatening letters he sent to the West's leaders. The former late prime minister had threatened to scuttle an agree- ment for European guarantees of Malta's neutral status, unless Ital- ian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reached "a decision this week-end, or at the latest early next week", newly declassified US embassy ca- bles from 1977 have shown. Mintoff – employing a tactic he had used with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger a year earlier – told Andreotti on 24 March, 1977 that "you should consider our proposal withdrawn if we do not receive a fa- vourable answer before the end of the month." Miffed that the Italian premier, now the head of a minority govern- ment with a fragile lease on life, was not available to meet him in Italy a week earlier, the Maltese prime minister puts forward a challenge to Andreotti. "I have unsuccessfully tried to meet you in Rome before the Com- munity heads of government meet- ing in your capital this weekend. I have nevertheless sent you mes- sages making it clear that after a 15-month period of half-hearted response on this issue on the part of the Italian government, Malta was not prepared to see another meeting of the EC take place with- out reaching a clear-cut negative or positive decision on Malta's pro- posal." Mintoff also suggested that, after meeting British foreign secretary David Owen, who had told him that neither Italy nor France required any EC consent to sign the treaty of security guarantee, "there are really no insurmountable obstacles for the Italian government to reach a decision this weekend… you should consider our proposal withdrawn if we do not receive a favourable an- swer before the end of the month." Letter 'ill-received' by Andreotti As claimed by Italian ambassa- dor Eric Da Rin to US ambassador Bruce Laingen, Mintoff's letter was 'ill-received' by Andreotti, who was busy with more pressing matters. Da Rin spoke to Mintoff's aide, Joe Abela, and Attorney General Edgar Mizzi, pointing out that pulling Gaddafi "like something out of his drawer" was counter-productive. While political discussion on Malta's security guarantees were apparently concluded in February 1977, Mintoff persisted in his threat to Andreotti in June that Muammar Gaddafi was prepared to go further than Europe in providing security and financial assistance for Malta. In another cable from the US ambassador to the European Com- munity, Deane Hinton, Mintoff was said to have told a Commission of- ficial in March that "I need money and I don't know where to turn". According to Da Rin, Mintoff gave a "rambling and not very effective" presentation to Andreotti on Mal- ta's economic requirements once the British defence forces left in 1979, complaining that Italian and French financial offers were "lim- ited, particularly in light of what Libyans [were] prepared to do." Now adopting a softer stance, Mintoff was said to have told An- dreotti that this was "not a breaking point" in discussions. The Americans described Mintoff as being eager to extract as much financial assistance to cover an "ex- aggerated unemployment situation" due to the run-down of the British services: Mintoff was said to have admitted that NATO subsidies for the British base in Malta had been spent in wages for his labour corps. Mintoff also presented Andreotti with a document for a 10-year neu- trality guarantee from Libya and $30 million to cover the transition period after the British departed. Gaddafi hand 'overplayed' Despite his threats, Mintoff's at- titude through the year in 1977 gradually changed when he realised that his game of brinkmanship also had its limits. In May, the French government reported to Laingen that Mintoff was ready to treat security guar- antees for Malta's neutrality, sepa- rately from the financial assistance he was demanding. "Mintoff, who really does not want Malta to be- come a Libyan colony, may have realised that he had almost over- played his hand." According to a cable from the US embassy in Paris, Mintoff was pro- posing that France and Italy grant Malta $12 million in 1979, and dropping by 30% each subsequent year until 1981, in addition to other bilateral development assistance treaties – a total of $24 million to be borne equally between Europe and the Arabs. France appeared unwilling to front the cash, but ready to tell EEC member states that Maltese "neu- trality" was better than Maltese hostility, warning that the Italian communist party will "undoubtedly attempt to fish in troubled Maltese waters and that the resultant politi- cal problems this small island poses for the West could then be worse than the ones we are facing now," deputy head of mission Samuel Gammon reported. But the French also said that their concept of dialogue and Mintoff's "did not correspond at all", describ- ing a French-Italian exchange with Mintoff in May going "through cy- cles of depression and euphoria". 'Bluster and demand' At home, Mintoff faced rising unemployment, and trouble with the unions and a direct collision with students after closing down 15 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 AUGUST 2014 US EMBASSY CABLES 1977 Threats, bluster and blackmail Declassified US embassy cables describe in full the limits of Mintoff's brinkmanship and his threat to become a Libyan satellite, and how he agonised over rising unemployment due to the rundown of the British defence forces in Malta 'Mintoff came back with 24-hour ultimatum saying that GOM was no longer prepared to accept any postponement in talks'