It is not fashionable, I know, to speak any good of Muammar Gaddafi. The Libyan dictator was a cruel and terrible leader for his people. What he did must always be condemned.

But I cannot forget that when Malta was in dire need of assistance – with the former colonial ruler having used the power it still had on our country, to try to force the Maltese government, my/our government, into submission – Col Gaddafi helped and supplied the money our government needed to get along.

That should never be forgotten.

In light of that, I cannot but find fault with Simon Busuttil’s one-sided contribution (August 24). He condemns the Labour Party, and only slightly refers to his own party’s dealings with the dictator, though the Nationalist Party in and out of government was longer in contact with him. The PN’s leaders, and Prime Ministers, kowtowed to and dined with the quirky Col Gaddafi in the desert more than once. They never condemned his behaviour. Neither did Dr Busuttil, ever, except now, when justice is catching up with Col Gaddafi. While Col Gaddafi ruled, Dr Busuttil kept his mouth shut, because to have spoken out then would have hurt his government here. Who is to believe Dr Busuttil now, busy getting rich in Brussels on the EU gravy train?

Truly, politics are dirty, and it is people like Dr Busuttil who make them so. People such as he only stir up the muck, when it suits them, to score points.