Two former prominent Nationalist MPs, both of whom feel they should have been better treated by their party, have criticised the way former European Commissioner Joe Borg got to know he would be replaced on his Brussels job.
Joe Psaila Savona, who had served as a parliamentary secretary for tourism and also as a director of Air Malta, said he always believed in saying "thank you" to people he let go.
"When I had to relieve members of chairmanships and boards I would always tell them thank you for their services, even if I was dealing with dead-wood," he said.
On the other hand, he did not know why Dr Borg took the incident to heart because "this is no new thing".
Dr Borg had said he only got to know that Social Policy Minister John Dalli would be replacing him through the evening news. The Prime Minister denied Dr Borg was not consulted - but the former European Commissioner stood by his words.
Despite knowing the feeling, Mr Psaila Savona was surprised at Dr Borg's outburst.
"He is one of us, he should know better," he said, adding that it did not make sense to criticise one's "employers".
He said that when he was being replaced as Air Malta director he was not even notified and only found out because someone who was replacing him told him so during a wedding ceremony.
The incident happened when Austin Gatt was Minister in charge of Air Malta.
"But what do you expect from someone like Austin Gatt? Should I have made a big deal about it?"
He said he preferred to criticise in a subtle way, without making a fuss or "going for a pound of flesh".
"Throughout my political life, let's not say I was shabbily treated, but I thought I should have been treated better. You keep your mouth shut and keep going."
He said even constituents teach you to do this, because when you are elected they get what they want from you but then they can easily discard you and vote for someone else.
Michael Bonnici, who was Deputy Speaker for a number of years, said he often discussed with other ex-MPs about how some people got chosen for certain posts and others were left out.
In a letter to the editor published today he says that "the duo from Castille and the trio DC Pieta' kicked many others out".
He adds that while some shepherds search for lost sheep, others let them go.
Contacted yesterday, Mr Bonnici said he had expected to be made Speaker but instead Anton Tabone was chosen "because he did not get elected to Parliament".
In fact, in 2005 Mr Bonnici had refused a medal from the Nationalist Party that was given to various former MPs to honour their service.
He said certain moves were "strategic" while others were intended to reward "blue-eyed boys" and punish others.
Many decisions showed "absolute preferences", and he gave the example of the role of acting-President as something which should be shared and not given to the same person without alternating, just to keep them happy.
When asked whether he believed Dr Borg's version of events or the rebuttal of Lawrence Gonzi, who said consultations had taken place, Mr Bonnici said: "Joe Borg is very honest," but added that there were many different types of consultation.