Dear Alfred Sant

Like most Maltese people I do not know you personally. However, your utterings at the Labour Party conference, and those of some of your colleagues, left more questions unanswered than answered.

Will you perhaps answer some of these questions?

Do you think a prime minister in waiting should tell people to invalidate their vote?

Your colleauges were obviously too scared to order their supporters to boycott the referendum so you've gone for the softly-softly boycott approach. You're telling voters either to vote no, or very significantly not to vote or to invalidate their vote.

Do you seriously think a potential prime minister should encourage anyone not to vote?

The whole country is already disturbed at the way the Labour Party has not withdrawn its requests to stop some older people from voting. The whole country is disgusted that people who work overseas and who are Maltese after all, are denied the right to vote. You do not want missionaries to vote. Why? What on earth are you scared of? You do not want Arnold Cassola to vote. Why?

If you are so sure of a Labour victory (you were sure in 1998 too, remember?) why are you so intent on telling people not to vote?

Even the man who is waiting in the shadows to take power from you, Alfred Mifsud, hums and haws about Europe all the time. Clearly, if he were leader he would at least be, or have been, in favour of negotiating the best deal possible and getting on with it!

Do you think someone who wants to be PM again should tell us he will only recognise a 60% majority?

Why? What on earth gives you the right to decide the amount of a majority? One more in favour or against and we all have to accept it. You are not above democracy, nor are any of us.

Are you quoting 60% because curently about 58% of those who are prepared to say, are saying iva to Europe?

And what is this either... or... or directive?

Are intelligent Labour voters in need of these kind of childish instructions?

Are you seriously telling us to vote no, or not to vote or even worse, are you seriously telling people to invalidate a vote?

I cannot imagine Eddie Fenech Adami telling us to invalidate a vote! He has always said we all should vote and we have the right to vote as we please. He urges us to be informed when we make our vote, which is fair and democratic.

Is your directive fair and democratic behaviour?

But the cherry on the cake at your party's general conference came from the potential finance minister no less. He said, to quote The Times, "the important thing is you do as you want, as long as you don't vote Yes?"

I'm resisting the urge to add my own exclamation marks. How can we be free to do as we want but not allowed to vote Yes?

Are you in danger of having dumbed down political debate to such a degree that it becomes almost difficult to utter such inanities?

One prominent and successful Nationalist minister and others recently told me of the fears they were encountering on home visits. Older people in Sliema being told by their Labour-trained cleaners that abortion will come to Malta. Families being told that their children will be made to fight in Iraq! The inane stories continue.

I heard you once say you were prepared to make a pact with the devil in order to win? Has this pact now been signed?

You are misleading people all the time. Do you realise you did this in 1996? Then you promised less arrogance less corruption, more fairness. None of this materialised. Your Housing Minister was prepared to spend three years of the Housing Authority's yearly subsidy of Lm1 million on a block of units which were not only unfit as social housing, but which were being bought from friends of friends, and happened to be in his electoral district!

When you contested in 1996 I had just returned from 15 years working and living in the UK and a committed Labour voter. I was tempted to vote for you but found your anti-EUness bizarre and illogical.

The experience of the slump we all experienced in 1996 and 1998 confirmed my worst fears. You may be bravu but you were unable to govern.

All you do is attack and throw mud. I know, because I survived one of your Super 1 onslaughts, so now I disbelieve anything they say, knowing how prepared they were to lie about me!

Can you build a new government on lies?

Can you create consensus when you have spent four years generating fear?

Can you get the business community on your side when you publicly name them as having to collapse if we join the EU?

What nonsense is this? Are you privy to their books? Do your read their accounts?

You claim to be the champion of the underdog but you know a PM cannot stop a privately-owned factory closing? Businesses are there to make money. On the way they create jobs. No business, no jobs and no amount of hand-waving can change that.

I have been following the madness in your methods since 1996. It is disturbing that a product of our university education, a man who calls himself a European (and times his book to be published at referendum time!) should be stooping to the language you have.

Why embarrass us with the Germans? If I were they I would boycott Malta and not come here on holiday! What rudeness to Verheugen! You two have the same political backgound. You're both meant to be social democrats, for God's sake.

You want us to dump Eddie, to dump the PN to ignore all the Prodis, Pattens and Verheugens and trust you even though you promise nothing.

If these tactics are believed I can just see your smile. To have won against all the odds of reasonableness and logic will be truly amazing. It is this little country that will bleed and regret this decision, though.

Post-1996 I found so few floaters willing to admit they had voted for Alfred Sant!

I wonder how many intelligent people will admit to having voted for Alfred Sant just one year after his potential electoral win?