Political debate turned bar argument

I watched Bondì Plus on Monday and I wish to express my deep disappointment and utter disgust at the way the debate preceded.

On the other hand I want to put on record my great admiration at the way the elections' debates are being conducted with every representative saying his piece without interruption, thus allowing the viewers to digest every word said.

The constant interruptions by the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Muscat, whenever the Prime Minister tried to open his mouth together with his use of words showed lack of tolerance, lack of education and great disrespect for viewers.

He still has a long way to go before reaching the stature of a mature politician. On the other hand, Lawrence Gonzi, disappointed by being too soft and not showing his disapproval at not being allowed to express his views. The programme has turned out to be an orgy of charlatans. It did no merit to the participants nor to the presenter who should have had better control over the participants.

Surely this was a programme that Lou Bondì should forget. He should never have let the debate slip out of his control. He should never have allowed it to deteriorate and fall into such an abyss. The viewers could not understand anything being said because of the ceaseless cross chattering. From the leaders of the two main parties we expected a mature and informative debate and not what turned out to be a typical bar argument.

Present communications' technology provides us with the means to follow political debates in other countries even when the topics are hot. We never witness such a farce, especially when leaders of political parties are the participants.

This time Bondì Plus made a mess and raises the question whether it is wise for politicians worth their salt to take part in this programme. Political debates should be better organised with a good chairman ready to intervene when the programme goes astray.

The Prime Minister and any other minister should have guarantees before attending any debate that there would be no interruptions and every participant is guaranteed his fair share of airtime. Failing this they would be doing a great disservice to themselves and their party.