Silvio Parnis (19 October 1965 – 3 January 2023) was a Maltese politician of the Labour Party. Parnis served in the Parliament of Malta from 1998 to 2022.[1]
Political career
Parnis was born in Paola to Michael and Doris Caruana.[2] He grew up there. He attended Paola Primary School and his secondary education at St. Elias College in Santa Venera.[3] In 2007 he married Dorianne née Cauchi, with whom he had one son, Jacob.
Parnis worked as a health supervisor and as an assistant social worker to elderly residents at the St. Vincent De Paul Residence.[when?][citation needed]
In 1991 he was bequeathed a small piece of land in St Paul’s Bay by will of a childless elderly couple, as he declared in Parliament in 2006.[4][5]
While in politics, Parnis was also a television and radio presenter, discussing current and social affairs. In 2006 Parnis presented the radio program Problemi tal-Qalb (Problems of the Heart) on PL-owned One Radio, as well as the television programs M’Intix Waħdek (You are not alone), Kliem u Fatti (Words and Facts), and Forum on Smash Television.[when?][citation needed] He stopped his media engagements after the Party decided that no election candidates should host media shows.[4]
From 1994 to 1998, Parnis served as mayor of Paola.
From 2013 to 2017, Parnis advocated for the Paola Square Project and an environmental study on Wied Blandun. Parnis also contributed significantly to other projects such as the university buildings in Bormla (lent out to the Sadeen Group's private American University of Malta) and Inwadar Park. From 2013 to 2017, he also held the role of Chairman of the Committee on Bills.[3]
Parnis was left out of government in November 2020,[7] following criticism of his inability to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on public elderly homes, as Malta recorded the second-highest rate of mortality in care homes in Europe. Parnis famously gifted a jam roly-poly slice to all elderly residents with the word "courage" printed on its plastic wrapping.[5][6]
Parnis announced he would not contest the subsequent 2022 election[7] and that he would "dedicate more time to God and work in favour of life and against abortion".[8] He then took up a job at Infrastructure Malta.[3]
1998 – 2003: Member of Parliament (opposition).
2003 – 2008: Member of Parliament (opposition), Partit Laburista’s spokesperson for the elderly, prepared the party’s position paper for this sector in conjunction with a team of experts.
2008 – 2013: Member of Parliament (opposition), Partit Laburista’s main spokesman for consumer protection. Later on during the legislature, Silvio Parnis served as Labour Party main spokesperson for the sustainable development of the south of Malta.
2013 – 2017: Member of Parliament (in government), Chair person of consultative council for the south of Malta.[9]
2017 –: Member of Parliament (in government), Chair person of consultative council for the south of Malta.
Death
Parnis died of cancer[7] on 3 January 2023, at the age of 57.[10]