Playing political games

I hope that this will be my last contribution on this subject. My initial point was how and who are the people that form part of the alleged Labour network in government service.

To form a network you ought to have a good number of people and not just one, two or three. Nobody, including Salvu Felice Pace, has answered my main point that these allegations create hatred and advocate more discrimination against Labour supporters. Instead of producing a Schindler's list of the alleged network, Mr Felice Pace mentioned George Abela, who was appointed President of the Republic. Does he mean then that the President forms part of this network?

Mr Felice Pace states that the network of Labour supporters in government departments he referred to are those who were appointed because of their seniority or for other reasons. This strengthens my point that Labour supporters are promoted only due to their seniority and not due to their qualifications.

Mr Felice Pace also refers to some qualifications acquired during the "golden age" of the Socialist Administration. He should know better!

The last part of his reply makes you either laugh or cry. He mentions surprise inspections and charges served to certain employees, the issue of utility bills before elections and wardens appearing from nowhere. This means he is either calling on employees not to do their duties and let everybody do what they like or else that ministers and their acolytes are so naïve they allow these things to happen under their noses. Since he mentions the wardens, I suggest Mr Felice Pace checks the number of tickets issued by the wardens during the gala night of Ġensna at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta. Were these wardens sent by the Labour network?

All I can say with certainty is that if there were a time when a Nationalist network worked perfectly it was during the 1996 Labour government when Alfred Sant and Labour supporters were the victims.

One last word to Edward Torpiano. He accused me of living on the moon. I assure Mr Torpiano I live on this island and follow all current affairs taking place around me. Louis Grech was one of the three pioneers who administered and formed Air Malta, alias għasafar taċ-ċomb (birds of lead). As chairman he followed another one renowned for selling the Boeing aircraft and substituted them by the famous Avroliners. There was also a crater in Air Malta's coffers that had to be seen to. Mr Grech was instrumental in removing a good part of this mess in the company's finances.

As a thank you the Nationalist government replaced Mr Grech and appointed Lawrence Zammit as chairman, a hard-line Nationalist and one forming part of the core group of the Nationalist Party, when Air Malta is so important for airlifting voters in election time. I wonder what Mr Torpiano would have said if it were the other way round.