Truth about Mintoff is 'somewhere in the middle' – Mario de Marco

pat muscat

Apr 9th, 14:17

'Dear Dom' is a misnomer; it should have been called ' Hate Dom and the Labour Party......' and you will be saved! Its another stratagem by GonziPN to try to save its face in the next election!

Joe Xuereb

Feb 24th, 13:28

With regard to:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120219/religion/Quotes-and-news.407491

I should have added that Ms. Warsi respected the protocol of taking a gift for the Pope. In her place I would have enquired whether the Pope had a sweet tooth and would have taken a box of genuine shortbread with a pretty picture. Something like that. But no, her gift was a copy of the Holy Koran. Dubiously insensitive at least. If nothing else because I am sure that the Pope has at least one copy of the Holy Book in his vast library. But what could he do, hurl the book back at her? His arms are none to strong these days. In any case, throwing things is so undignified. At any age. And from papal hands to boot.

Come back Mr. Carrington. All is forgiven.

Joe Xuereb

Feb 23rd, 16:25

The Carrington era, when one did NOT tell Britain what to do, is long gone. Look at Britain now (one only has to read the British media first hand to get a picture of where the United Kingdom is, and is heading). I am thinking of borders that are not honoured, financial problems galore, the high and mighty - as in husband Huhne and ex-wife - in Court only this week. AND so many others. The broadsheets, the serious newspapers find front-page space for all this but manage to include to coverage of British Fashion week and the love shenanigans of people any serious reader would never have heard about. And that is before starting on the phone-hacking shebang. A Carrington could not exist in today's once-upon-a-time Great Britain. I am a beneficiary, and forever grateful, for a Britain that afforded me my freedom of spirit. That is getting more difficult now.

The Queen is, of course, Head of CofE. And yet, secularism marches on and makes inroads, seemingly unstoppable. How do they deal with it? See the Warsi quote, the first of the lot, as linked here. From Sunday's Quotes and News of 12th February 2012.


http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120219/religion/Quotes-and-news.407491


And we still think that burden-sharing will not impact on tiny Malta? Think again. Stop being so blinkeredly insular. Britain too is an island and not that big. And it shows.


I feel that Mr. de Marco's speech about Mintoff being somewhere in the middle is a projection of his own stance vis-à-vis the Mintoff issue. He wants to praise the guy for the good he did, he wants to demonise him for the perceived bad. A difficult road to tread so he opts for a single, neutral phrase - 'Mintoff is somewhere in the middle'. How convenient! How transparent!


I remember when I first came to UK I spoke to my then boss about Malta's relationship with Britain (financial aid, integration, etc. I was still in my teens). Mr. B.D, in typical British fashion, told me, 'and how long would Malta expect Britain to help her?'. That hurt but it shut me up big time. Some commenter below said that Britain was more than willing to let Malta go (as in, how long would it have the island round its neck). This is probably why Integration never materialised, its refusal a foregone conclusion. And just as well: who would want to be part of Britain - in Malta's case, a mere shire - today? Possibly out of pique - the guy is a past master at that, also a Maltese trait as in 'cutting one's nose to spite one's face' sort of thing - Mintoff turned to other markets and it had to as 'Malta qatt ma rrifjutat qamħ' (Malta is forever needful). And the rest is history, with a bit of hysteria thrown in, every now and then.

Bill Khan

Feb 23rd, 15:42

Call him what you will Dom Mintoff was a great leader with a vision. The negotiations with the british showed the man did not believe in the middle way or compromise. Lord Carrington was a tough intimidating negotiator. Mintoff did not budge. It is said that leaders should communicate their vision and objectives to the people. But such people are much in a hurry to complete what they have started and often lose sight of the golden rule of communication. No one is perfect even great Dom. But we owe it him for achieving large pride and dignity for tiny Malta.

carmelo agius

Feb 23rd, 12:04

A coward is a spiritless person....when faced with this difficult situation Mr.Mario Demarco came out with flying colours.It was not easy,but as he explained well,he is following his father's foot steps.Moving forward makes you strong .You must be strong to arrive to your destination.

John Azzopoardi

Feb 23rd, 11:23

All politicians tend to have dictatorial tendencies in one form or another as they don't won't to give u power and that is what happened to Mintoff. He was too power hungry and thought he was invincilbe at the time. I still remember how many labourites considered him to be the father of malta. We can also say the same today with Gonzi - he wants to hold on to power at all cost. the other concept I don't like as a nationlist is having the logo GonziPN. I am against labels as this show narrowmindedness and cult followings. It's should be either PL or PN or AD, or other party. Period. Let no one man be too big because it will go through his head and he will become dictatorial.

Bill Millam

Feb 23rd, 10:15

Truth about Mintoff is 'somewhere in the middle' – Mario de Marco

Spoken just like a coward, I am afraid to say, Dr. Demarco.
Living under the DICATATORSHIP of il-perit Duminku Mintoff, there was "NO middle of the road".
Like the dictator Mintoff himself used to love to say, for him you where "Either with us or against us".
(Jew maghna jew kontra taghna). Talk about "somewhere in the middle", talk about extremism!!!

For all intents and purpose, Mintoff will ALWAYS be remembered as Malta's very own dictator, "that despicable little man from Malta" so Lord Carrington once aptly described the perit to me.

In other countries, where democracy was of paramount importance, Mintoff would have been put on trial for all the "hnizrijiet" he allowed to happen and that he imposed under his dictatorship in the 70s and 80s. And
if found guilty, he would have been sent to the gallows.

Bill Millam
Los Angeles

Joe Xuereb

Feb 23rd, 09:44

If nothing else Mintoff opened the eyes of HIS people. He gave them a consciousness and a voice. The stumbling block was religion, then and now. The religious and the clerics may mouth some nonsense about forgiveness and even reconciliation but in their hearts this could never be. As I said, there is this stumbling block. Malta is an island, and tiny. And religion plays a big part, culturally, historically. Wow! I am well out of it!

Victor Pulis

Feb 23rd, 08:43

As I said in a previous comment nothing is wholly black or white but a shade of grey.Many good things have been mentioned about Mintoff but there was also a dark side to his administration. We all remember the water shortages where we were even constrained to import water in tankers from Sicily. Once a consignment had to be sent back because of oil contamination. We used to wash in óxtail soup coloured water and that's only when something came out of the tap! Water bottles were introduced in Malta during Dom's days. We remember the white elephants like the caper factory and the rattan, decorative glass, carpet factories all Chinese enterprises.We remember half the street lights turned off . We remember the sixteen years of paramiltary workers corps on minimum wage and under military discipline. After taking power in 1971 Mintoff declared the first workers corps called tal ememrgenza. We remained in emergency for 16 years albeit under different titles.We spent the last 4 years with a wage freeze in force.The irony is that after losing the election of 1987 He boasted that he had left Malta's coffers brimming! Not to mention the dubious friendships with some of the most hated dictators in the world namely Kim il Sung, Ceausescu, Gaddafi. I understand this was all part of Mintoff's game of playing the West (Cain) against the East (Abel)A game he would not be able to play today because of the global political upheaval of 1989 He may have made a name for himself in the world but not everyone looked upon him with effection. His animosity for the West didn't help us much and we were put at the mercy of people like Gaddafi who treated us like we were part of Libya after the British closed down their thorn in his backside. It may be true that Mintoff was not a direct part of the violence which met any dissidence but his character could have easily nipped it in the bud. I feel that he didn't do his utmost to curb this intollerance.Perhaps it served him well to keep a grip on the country. The fact that he backed down to his MPs'pressure not to hold an early election in 1981 speaks volumes. If he had put his foot down like he always did, his stature would have sky rocketed. Instead he passed on the sceptre to KMB with all the consequences that followed.The Labour party won just one election since that time.Who knows what Malta's future would have been like had Mintoff said No on that particular day?

Anthony Mizzi

Feb 23rd, 07:25

Truth is always "somewhere in the middle"..... especially with lawyer talk where no straight answers are ever given!

One think for sure and it is God's truth that for Mintoff Malta's interests always came first and foremost - Malta l'ewwel u qabel kollox !

Mary Rose Grech

Feb 23rd, 07:11

il bniedem li kien igib lil malta l-ewwel u qabel kollox,insellimlek perit

David Magro

Feb 23rd, 06:04

Mintoff will always be remembered as Malta`s greatest statesman...no matter what....he suffered a lot ( and never mentioned the sufferings he and his family underwent through ). The Interdect from the Church, the attack on his father, his whole family had to undergo an immense struggle in the 60`s because of their belief.He was a GREAT negotiator, a great diplomant, a rebel,always wanted to change and challenge things, and eradicated poverty in Malta, eradicated illeteralism,raised the standard of living etc etc. Thank you Dom.

George Mifsud

Feb 23rd, 03:19

Hey, lived as a school leaver in 1971 - courses at Uni were cut down, closure of the banks, shortages in the country such as chocolate and other necessities. My family worked along with Mintoff and this person was so unorthdox in approach of his work ethic. You can say that this person gave some pride to some Maltese for kicking the British out when they really wanted to leave and other national pride as more Projects fallen along such as Sea Malta and Air Malta Sorry but I hate politics and should be eradicated. What matters is what standard of living we had in the seventies when this Dom Mintoff did not want calculators in circulation. You have a memory loss - dementia must reign high in the little island of Malta -

R. Gauci

Feb 23rd, 00:12

Dr. Mario Demarco jixraqlu li l-quddiem ikun hu l-kap tal-PN u jnaddaf lil dan il-partit mil-klikek ta` GonziPN li qed dejjem jghaddsuh l-isfel u jirrovinawlu l-valuri; bniedem edukat, intelligenti u umli, ezatt kif kien missieru.

Joe Xuereb

Feb 22nd, 23:32

'I do not know Duminku Mintoff other than that one occasion when our paths crossed at Peter's Pool. I introduced myself and shook his hand. He had been my father's hero.

I remember Mintoff from when I was still a child. The mantra was that he was of the people,. for the people. But he was intelligent, he was 'il-perit', a professional. His supporters were vilified because they were Mintoffjani, working-class, riff-raff and their children, rubbish. All this from the privileged class of course. Some of whom were 'imġewwħin' themselves (ordinary working-class) but preferred to be blue to raise their social status, and of course, to be on the right side of the Curia. Class and Religion being very important to the Maltese, then much more so than now. Times change.

Mintoff took a page - and then some - from the Socialist book of how to..... This stood for raising the status of the downtrodden and that always draws a following, in particular Malta still fresh from the ravages of war. And still, incidentally. Look at the ongoing theatre debacle. I imagine - but of course I am not sure - that he may have used the Communist model to be inspired. If this were the case, he wisely kept his mouth shut. In his heart of hearts he was not, I imagine, a deeply religious man, not in the usual Maltese sense of the word(he was too much of a deep-thinker for that and religious people, in MY book, are not particularly deep in spite of what THEY may say). But he knew well enough that one did not meddle with the people's belief system(he not being alien to it himself, by definition). Especially at a time when Communism was the devil incarnate. The Curia of course was astute enough to know this and played the 'interdett' and the 'shameful burial' cards to the hilt and with some degree of success, I shouldn't wonder. But I was old enough to understand and remember the anguish and endless discussions, and the rifts within families, and among neighbours that all this caused. I left Malta in 1961 and do not have first hand recollection of the panning out of the Mintoff years following on from the early 60s. But I have learned a thing or two and one learns to analyse even at a distance in time and place.

I keep reading about the violent years. It may be unfair and even inappropriate, especially not knowing the full facts, for me to draw a comparison between the ousting of the Imperialism in Russia (the privileged class, again, and the rest of the human debris, the serfdom there). I am not saying anything like that is justified but in a social impasse, the never-ending struggle between the haves and the relentless underdog, something has got to give. Hence the Revolution in France and other instances. Our very own unhappy situation with the Order of the Knights, latterly not a very happy occupier. Wheels turn full circle and often one has to put one's shoulder to them to get them rolling.

About the instigation of violent acts. It is difficult to claim too much at this distance in time. One or two things I do know, however. People with a cause get hot-headed and especially if the head happens to be on a pair of Maltese shoulders, long downtrodden. That said, I have also noted that in these uprisings, the riots in London this Summer just past, the violent protests in Afghanistan about the burning of holy books and so on - I would suggest that within the rabble (of young men, usually) there is a core of anarchic activists who are there for the ride. Bored young men who are dying for a bit of action, the stuff they dream about at night to give their miserable lives a bit of spice. (I watched the current video-clip of the Afghan protest and, even looking at some of the young men's faces with stones in their hands ready for flinging - they did not strike me as being particularly religious. They just look bored with venom and hatred in their eyes and fingers, resentful of the presence of foreigners on their land. Little realising, the wretched lambs, that when the foreigners are gone, the situation will be a hundred times worse. I am only making a point that young men just jump on the violence bandwagon because that is what young men with no direction do. Anytime and anywhere.

Mintoff is what I would describe as a man of destiny. He knows this and works on it. Where he and I might part ways would be - and this is typical of such men: a touch of megalomania, maybe, and that and political public life share the same territory - when he wanted to upgrade village cores so that villagers felt they were now urbanites. But the destruction of village cores comes at a price. And in this a guy like Mintoff and myself, we are very, very different people. Although with me he could be quite open what he thought of the Interdett, Gonzi the Bishop, and so on. He would know I would not bat an eyelid. Which leaves the PLs affiliation with the oil-rich neighbour down Rio way. That is another matter that I would need to read more about.

Ad multos annos Dumink(hux hekk jgħidu l-privileġġjati! Well, you taught me how to walk tall even though I'm only little). I do not buy this 'you are something in between'. You are too strong a character to be reduced to a stile between to camps, a sitter uncomfortably sat on a fence.

mark spiteri

Feb 22nd, 22:58

Verament diskors memorabbli minn Dr de Marco; nista' nimmagina kemm kien difficli ghalih li jitkellem dwar Mintoff; illum il-gurnata jiena nikkunsidra lili nnifsi bniedem socjalist u fil-fond ta' qalbi minn dejjem kont; Mintoff verament huwa bniedem li beda bosta servizzi socjali f' dan il-pajjiz; trabbejt fir-rahal t' isfel taz-Zejtun; ma niftakarx hafna l-eewel snin tieghu bhala PM ghaliex twelidt fl-1971; izda li niftakar zgur hu li peress li l-familja taghna kienet aktar ixxaqleb lejn il-PN, niftakar it-terrur li kont nghaddi minnu bhala tifel kull darba li kont nisma' l-hsejjes fit-triq; ma nafx kemm il-darba harqulna l-bieb ta' barra; darba anke sparaw fuq il-faccata; darba ohra rajt corma irgiel ikissru zewg karozzi u wara jaghtuhom in-nar; imwerwer ,minn wara t-tieqa, rajt persuna tispara fuq persuna ohra; kemm il-darba ma stajtx immur l-iskola ghax kienu jahsluni bil-bajd u t-tadam ghax jiena, tifel ta 10 snin, kont wiehed mill-ftit li kont immur skola tal-knisja; membri tal-familja gew imsawwtin kemm il-darba sahansitra fil-kamra tal-ghadd tal-voti; dan kien bejn l-ahhar tas-snin 70 u bidu tas-snin 80 snin qabel tal-barrani; l-isem Mintoff ghalija kien terrur inspjegabbli; kif qatt stajt inkun laburist avolja jiena dejjem kont nemmen f' politika xellugija; min jitkellem mod iehor ma nlumux ghax ninsab cert li qatt ma ghadda milli ghaddejt jiena u ohrajn bhali li konna nghixu f' dar b' tendenza nazzjonalista fir-rahal t'isfel taz-Zejtun

anthony bartolo

Feb 22nd, 22:33

@Charles Massa
Kien inholoq STAMPEDE [PARTI MILL PJAN] ghalekk il bank beda jaghti parti biss mill flus lill dawk li bdew jigbdu ,u mhux kif ghidtilna int habib.

David Bezzina

Feb 22nd, 22:28

A VERY GOOD ANALYSIS OF DOM MINTOFF BY DR.DEMARCO......

m. borg (slm)

Feb 22nd, 22:14

As usual everybody is right in his conclusion whilst everybody else is wrong.

Most of the comments are tripe .

Angelo Vassallo

Feb 22nd, 21:35

@ pat muscat

For correctness sake, Mikiel Anton VASSALLI and not Vassallo.

Claire Busuttil

Feb 22nd, 21:22

Hadd mhu perfett.....u lanqas Mintoff pero HADD ma jista jichad il gdid li ghamel lil Malta.

Angelo Vassallo

Feb 22nd, 21:18

@ Charles J. Buttigieg

"Dom Mintoff was the greatest reformist and democrat we ever had."

INT BIS-SERJETA`? POSSIBBLI?

Schembri Ray

Feb 22nd, 20:35

Mintoff kien imexxi b'moħħ komunista. Kulħadd jaħdem mal-gvern, jitħallas biċ-ċiċri u l-kapijiet jikkontrollaw kollox. Bena klikka li kienet tagħlaq ħalq kull minn jażżarda jitkellem, u jekk taqbżilhom jiġu u jkissru kull ma jsibu quddiemhom. Ma' Mintoff weħlu l-knejjes, in-nazzjonalisti, t-tobba, l-istudenti, tal-qażżetti, tax-xandir, skejjel privati, kumpaniji li jimpurtaw minn barra, u dawk kollha li jiprovaw jitkellmu. Jekk ma jkollokx parrinu, insa li toħlom li toħloq xi żvilupp jew għall-inqas tgħix liberu.

Raymond Sacco

Feb 22nd, 19:55

Mr. George Debono said: "You forget to mention that he took over every private bank he could lay hands on to fund these so caled "enterprises".
Well, if every private bank was taken over by the European governments today, I'm sure the great majority of the European population would welcome such move!

Aldo Buttigieg

Feb 22nd, 19:40

Grazzi Perit f'qalbi ghal dejjem, grazzi ta' dak kollu li tajtni.

ALBERT FENECH

Feb 22nd, 19:31

Regardless of ANY opinions whether they be pro or favour, the fact remains that every country has the one great and outstanding politician/leader that symbolises the nation and is ALWAYS linked to that nation. Britain had Winston Churchill; Italy had Giuseppe Garibaldi; the US had Abraham Lincoln; Turkey had Kemal Ataturk, Russia has Peter the Great, etc. In Malta's case it is il-Perit Dom Mintoff and no matter the extent of huffing and puffing will ever blow that historical image away. So, the people that are green and livid with envy and chagrin can put that in their pipe and smoke it and those of us who are more balanced, truthful and knowledgeable of the real facts of history know that we have backed the right man throughout and will continue to do so into his immortality.

ALBERT FENECH

Charles J. Buttigieg

Feb 22nd, 19:25

I lived the Mintoff’s era and probably, unlike Mario Demarco, I don’t have a big problem to understand this great Statesman. Dom Mintoff was the greatest reformist and democrat we ever had. He seriously lacked polish and loved to be surrounded by uneducated and lesser polished individuals even though he wouldn’t identify himself as one of them. Part of his Band of inner camaraderie exercised excessive power and even participated and\or motivated violence, not necessarily that they had a violent tendency in their DNA, but, because they used their power of incumbency to pay back for what they had received from the Church and the PN pre 1971. Cold Vendetta.

Mintoff was totally disenchanted by the 1981 Elections results and wanted fresh elections within six months, however, he succumbed to the opposition within his Cabinet and back benchers.

His legacy will live on and whether one loved him or despised him he would still remain the Greatest Political figure of international fame we ever had.

Joseph Mifsud

Feb 22nd, 19:19

Mintoff din't divided the country, Malta is devided not between Nationalist and Labourites but between the established elit and the higher middle class, and on the other side the lower middle class and the low class. Because Malta is so small the higher class is afraid of being toppled up by the lower class. Besides the upper part of the pyramid cannot be big and the new businessmen are finding it hard to keep their rich status. This is the problem in the PN is facing right now, and this is the reason why Mintoff brought down the Sant government. He wanted to give us the chance to chose Yes or No for EU membership, if we said No Mintoff would have won, if we said Yes, as it was, Mintoff also won because Malta's business elit are not able to withstand European competition. Since the time of the British colony the Nationalist and before them the anti-riformist party were always against change. Now the rat entered the trap volontarily. Mintoff will haunt the PN much after his death.

Mr Charles.C. Brown

Feb 22nd, 19:15

I sincierly hope that DR Mario Demarco will one day be Malta s prime minister like Dr Gonzi and his late father he fights for his nationalist believes with no personnal hatred for for those on opposite side of the house and those who support them!

Charles Massa

Feb 22nd, 19:08

@Amanda Mallia
Iva kien hemm run fuq in National Bank Group, IMMA l bank minkejja ; figuri tieghek ma kellhomx bizzejjed t likwidita biex jonoraw il commitments ie il withdrawals. Kieku l gvern ma interveniex il Bank kien ifalli u kien ikun hawn dizastru ekonomiku . Fil fatt min kien jigbed il flus dak iz zmien, ma kinux ituh l amont kollhu. Meta il gvern ha over il bank, il gvern ippompja aktar flus bhala kapital biex isahhah il bazi kapitali. Is shareholders ta National Bank Group fethu kawza imma ghada pendenti sal lum. Kieku vera Mintoff seraq il Bank bal ma insimwa xi hadd kieku il PN mil 1987 l hawn zgur ikkompnesa lil shareholders.

Joseph Grima

Feb 22nd, 18:55

Perfectly timed Dr Demarco. What a chip off the old block! With the Prime Minister's head on the proverbial block this Sunday; with an outcome of that internal election being far from certain; with a Dr. Demarco being the first of the papabili to profess his allegiance to Gonzi; with several PN stalwaths openly rooting for Dr Demarco for Leader;; with contributors in these columns confirming what sounds like a well rooted wish of PN insiders who may be ready to ditch Dr Gonzi for someone like Dr Demarco, all that Dr Demarco needed was for the Times to follow him into that well-timed preview of a Dom Mintoff film, a speech that could have been taken from a page Guido Demarco's book and a little emotion, a few tears to boot. Excuse me for being cynical Dr Demarco. I am too long in the tooth in the politics game to believe such a mise en scene. That having been said, I wish him well in what may be a clandestine bid for the Leadership. Worse than Gonzi we couldn't get. I prefer to wait for Sunday's aftermath when a clearer picture may emerge. What this story portrays could be just political smoke.

Joe Vella

Feb 22nd, 18:54

@ Ramon Casas

"Many of the comments below show that, if Mario de Marco takes over the reins of the party after Gonzi, it will be a long, uphill struggle until the party supporters gain the same level of maturity that he is showing and promoting today."

How wrong are you. History is proof to the contrary to what you are suggesting. . The same mistake was repeated by Alfred Sant in 1987. The only difference from MIntoff, Alfred Sant appointed a Corruption Commission to investigate alleged corruption alleged that had taken place under the PN Administration. Only for the PL appointed Commission came up empty handed.

To start with, In 1987 EFA did not go on a vengeance as Dom Mintoff did in 1971. There were plenty at whom EFA could have went after with a vengeance, but he did not. From Corruption to police brutality and a number of other wrong doings that were perpetuated by and under the previous PL administration.. The list of issues is from A to Z. It never ends.

pat muscat

Feb 22nd, 18:47

Mintoff has followed in the footsteps of Mattew Callus, Mikiel Anton Vassallo, and Manwel Dimech; the rest is history.

Michael Magri

Feb 22nd, 18:34

I think that a lot can be easily said about the Mintoff`s era. First of all, and without any doubt, Dom Mintoff was the greatest political leader Malta ever had so far, as he had a strong and clear forsight for Malta. Above all, he strongly insisted and encouraged the workers` children to go to school and learn as much as they can, as that was Malta`s greatest economical investment for years to come. He managed to build Malta into a very kind Social State and thus got rid of poverty. Malta`s name was known around the four corners of the globe and thus investments, tourisim and finacial assistance grew consistently. With regards to the Church / State dispute, and as a great Statesmen, he used to tell everyone that, quote, " ..Jiena Nahfer IVA imma Ninsa LE..", with the result that in due time the Church recognized its mistake, and apologized... Thanks to all those who contributed to this church/state stalemate..

As far as those `turbulant` political years are concerned, history tells us, that they started and grew after the PN leadership was changed from that of Dr. Borg Olivier to that of Dr. Fenech Adami. However, I WILL NEVER EVER EXCUSE the wrong doings that happened then, but i also will NEVER EVER APPROVE of the constant PREMEDITATED PROVOCATIONS` TRAPS from the PN and its Allies, of which some PL hot-heads fell into blind-folded, as, as far as i am concerned, two wrongs never make a right..

It`s impossible for me to write in details of what i know of those years and i beleive there`s no need to. But ofcourse one cannot forget Mintoff`s dear love for Malta and the Maltese, deeply expressed by his most famous phrase of... "..Malta L-Ewwel U Qabel Kollox.."... And , that IS what Dom Mintoff realy means..

THANK YOU DOM MINTOFF..

Karl Consiglio

Feb 22nd, 18:27

"Truth about Mintoff is somewhere in the middle'"

U wejja u can say that about anyone.

Joseph Brincat

Feb 22nd, 18:25

THE TRUTH .

NO MINTOFF WASN'T PERFECT , ' WHO IS ' !!!!!!

BUT HE MADE A BIG REVOLUTION IN MALTA BY

CHANGING THE MALTESE MENTALITY AND FROM

BEGGARS TO SOCIAL SERVICES THAT NO BODY HAVE DREAMED OF

THANK YOU DOM MINTOFF >>> L-EWWEL MALTA QABEL KOLLOX !!!!!!!

Ramon Casha

Feb 22nd, 18:21

Many of the comments below show that, if Mario de Marco takes over the reins of the party after Gonzi, it will be a long, uphill struggle until the party supporters gain the same level of maturity that he is showing and promoting today.

VINCENT WILLIAMS

Feb 22nd, 18:10

Every leader of every political party and every Prime Minister since our first elections were held in 1921. All had done things that the country benefitted from and at the same time all had their negative side in administering the country. Many of the party's leaders suffered violence from their opponents as for many years we, the Maltese, were not so politically mature.

It is unfair to point only to Dom Mintoff in regards to the violence that happened when he was in power. The physical and moral violence that Dom Mintoff and every Labour supporter had to endure in the 1960's. Had never occurred like it since 1921 even when one COMPARE such violence which occurred in the 1980's.

Manwel Dimech suffered physical and moral violence because the local Curia was against his political views. Lord Gerald Strickland Leader of the Constitutional Party also suffered for his political believes not only from the local Curia. But also from the Nationalists supporters during the first political-religious combat as did the Labour's leaders and its supporters.

Dr. Eddie Fenech Adami and many of the leaders and supporters of the PN in the 1980's suffered physical and moral political violence as well. From a few tough guys that the Labour administration had not the will to stop them.

One of the aspects that Dom Mintoff will be remembered for more than any Prime Minister is for laying the foundations for the social services. Without any doubt Dom Mintoff was the most leader that gave a hard time to the British colonialists to respect and assist financially our country.

Whenever I visit England (my last visit two years ago) I still meet British citizens, who used to work in Malta with the British forces, who still inquire about Dom Mintoff. He is still remembered amongst foreign leaders from the Commonwealth who fought for their countries independance from England.

Vincent Scerri

Feb 22nd, 17:57

Prosit lil Dr.Demarco. Diskors konciljatorju ghall-ahhar. Dawn huma l-irgiel.

A. Schembri

Feb 22nd, 17:49

Prosit Charles Massa frankajtli li nikteb dak kollu jien...Mintoff iehor qatt ma jerga kollna. Irnexxilu jkabar u johloq jwazi mix xejn u mad dinja kolla nxterdet l isem ta malta bil kisbiet li amel ekonomikament u socjalment.... Long live Dom!

Giov DeMartino

Feb 22nd, 17:48

It-tifel ta' missieru!

Victor Gelfo

Feb 22nd, 17:47

The only good idea of mintoff was integration. After that he took socialism and the rest is history.
He was a brilliant orator who created like goebbels the myth that all was doom and poverty pre 1971. So created
the lie of giving to the 'people' the banks,airline,freedom etc. Well in reality he gave nothing. He created a monstet. A huge and allcompassing state and disasters in health,education and defence.
He also humiliated people like ex servicman sent to clran and collect rubbish.
The apologists like Mr Laiviera are the party faitfull who have risen up to live the life of nobilty on other

R. Gauci

Feb 22nd, 17:44

Illum qeghdin fejn qeghdin bis-sahha ta` Mintoff, taqbel jew ma taqbilx mieghu kullhadd jaf deep down dak li sar ghax komplejna nibnu fuq li ghamel u beda hu. Hu kien l-uniku PM li ma sab xejn hlief ostakli, fl-1971 anqas flus biex ihallas il-pagi ma sab u faqar jifjorixxi kien. Meta nizel mill-Gvern fl-1987 bit-tajjeb u l-hazin halla mijiet ta' miljuni, azjendi u banek biex ta' warajh komplew jaghmlu l-gid(??). Illum sfortunatament hlief dejn u azjendi mibjugha ma fadalx u Mintoff iehor zgur mhux se jerga jitwieled.

GRAZZI PERIT!!

Geoffrey Farrugia

Feb 22nd, 17:37

I am sure that this speech was one of the most difficult to deliver for Dr De Marco. He is not alone in his feelings. Dr De Marco let his heart speak and occasions like this, it is the best way forward.

Well done. You would have made your father proud today.

E Gatt

Feb 22nd, 17:34

Mintoff had the power to call an election soon after the perverse results of the 1981 elections, and prove his democratic credentials. He didn’t and so history cannot be kind to him.

Sometimes I feel the country suffers from widespread Stockholm syndrome.

Charles Massa

Feb 22nd, 17:29

@George Debono
Kull ma ghandek taghmel tistaqsi lil poplu jekk kienux ahjar tah\t Mintoff jew taht tal PN. Mintoff nehha l faqar li il lum rega fegg. Il lum ghandna familji li lanqas jistu jhalsu l kontijiet ta dawl u ilma. U lil min seraq Mintoff. ???????? L Air Mlata, Sea Malta, Telemalta, u Enemalta twaqqfu b investiment tal gvern, IL BOV twaqqaf wara l falliment ta National Bank Group, U Mid Med ex Barclays kienu jiehdu flus il Maltin u jinvestuhom barra u l profiit igawduhom il barranin. Hadd gost li ma semmejt xejn fuq is serv]z socjali etc sinjal li taqbel maghhom

Julian Tonna

Feb 22nd, 17:26

the worst time of malta was when we where under the regim of fenech adami. scary years. mintoff was very very kind to the poor and the old.we all should thank him.

paul fava

Feb 22nd, 17:25

He is still my hero. The Labour Party under Dr. Sant should be ashamed of calling him a traitor. Such a government and prime minister just deserved their downfall. Long live Dom !!!!

m farrugia

Feb 22nd, 17:21

goerge debono qal wahda tajba - ahna nahdmu nhallsu it taxxa u hadd iehor jitaghazzen u jibla is servizzi socjali u il housing tal gvern flok jiehu loan biex jixtri daru bhal haddiehor, dak progress.

J.C. Borg

Feb 22nd, 17:15

""I still ask myself, what led to Mintoff resigning in 1984?" In my opinion mintoff resigned because, besides being very stubborn, he was also very proud. He accepetd the fact that the electorate voted him out and so he did not want to govern against the will of the majority. However as his assiciates did not agree with him he opted to resign himself.

Charles Massa

Feb 22nd, 17:04

Bhal Mintoff ma jrgax ikun hawn. Zbalji saru imma l poplu Malti ghamel progress taht Mintoff ta bejn 1971/1987. Kine Mintoff li introduca servizzi socjali, penzjonijiet, childrens allowance, minimum wage, equal work equal pay, leave ghal kulhadd, sptar b xejn, universita ghal kulhadd, b xejn u anzi tithallas. U ma tistax ma issemmix l Air Malta, Sea Malta, Enemalta, Telemalta, Mid Med, Bank of Valletta li hadmu eleuf ta nies u l profitti taghhom ikkontribwew ghal ekonomija ta Malta. U ma insemmux il privat, fabbriki li ghadhom jahdmu sal lum, ta spinta lit turizmu. U fuq kollox Malta saret tal Maltin. meta kzibna l helsien.

A Spiteri

Feb 22nd, 16:57

i'm pretty sure that your father knew a thing or two about Mintoff's real motives behind most of his decisions especially after the medina line dispute with Libya!

Joseph Calleja

Feb 22nd, 16:56

I always said that Dom Mintoff was a smart man but first of all he was ahead of his time and he let his personal politics challenge the power of the church, meaning Archbishop Michael Gonzi. These two instigated a lot of hared among the citizens in order to spite each other and I believe their feud became a duel. The personal vendetta between the two put the citizens in a bind, because if I remember correctly, it even split families that opted for different parties. I am of course talking about the early sixties. Dom Mintoff used goons to settle any disagreements with the opposing party, your father and EFA were a good example. The vandalizing of the Times Building was another and there were quite a few more other incidents where MLP party members took the law into their own hands to settle matters. Dom Mintoff ruled with an iron fist, he was arrogant and punished those that did not agree with him. Dom Mintoff also enforced the REQUISITION LAW to which my family is still held victims through no fault of our own. He encouraged people to squat in any empty property and take over, he also made sure that the property owner could do nothing to stop it. As a matter of fact, his family was one of the victims who owned such a property but his family because of who they are and a lot of money managed to get their property back a couple of years ago, with compensation mind you. No Dom Mintoff might have been a saint for some but he is no hero of mine and despised by many others. To add salt to the wound, your government the PN has done nothing to help me and my family get that property back. They invented the REQUISITION but that only acted as a pacifier ( Gazaza) and it does not give me the right to be able to evict the tenants (Squatters) till the end of two generations living there. GonziPN has done me no favours either. Dom Mintoff was a savior for some but a living hell for others, it depends what side of the fence you are on. To this day, I consider him as an arrogant and a very hateful person, and that of course is my personal opinion.

vella m

Feb 22nd, 16:49

Dr de Marco,the PN needs you as it new leader.

I Bugeja

Feb 22nd, 16:45

Mario following in the footsteps of his father. Politics of persuasion worked for Guido through dialogue and this trait seems to have been passed over.

George Debono

Feb 22nd, 16:45

I will never forgive Mintoff for the intentional, wilful and destructive harm he did to Malta and my family. Punto e basta. Maybe God can help us all who were harmed by him and his henchmen to forgive one day, but we are scarred beyond redemption.

Charles Cremona

Feb 22nd, 16:43

De Marco should be the next PN leader. If he took over from Gonzi now the PN would win the election hands down.

Victor Vella

Feb 22nd, 16:42

Mintoff was a wise politician and he always was sure of his objectives. He used to exhaust all options. Sometimes seen irrational as was the issue of integration. But, he always put all the cards on the table and tried to choose those that sometimes baffled his opponents. Mintoff has to be hard with the English because they were tough negotiators. But, like G.B.O, he did his best for his country. The only drawback for Mintoff was when he accepted a group of hooligans who hijacked this country by their violent acts. One doubts the staunchness of this person who used all his might against the English, and then did nothing to stop such violence coming from a few Maltese people. But for sure Mintoff has done a lot for his country and he also followed the path of Jesus by helping the poor, the aged and the sick.

Frans Aguis

Feb 22nd, 16:41

"many of whom are still trying to pick up the pieces." I think that might be a bit of an exaggeration

Victor Pulis

Feb 22nd, 16:34

A chip off the od block as they say. Dr. Guido De marco to me is the most honest man ever to grace Maltese politics.Listenng to hm talk was like listening to a poet reciting verse.

Lucas North

Feb 22nd, 16:32

though i might not always agree with Hon De Marco, I think today's comments do him justice as he spoke from the heart without any spinning or partisanship about a man who essentially is his rival in the political field..

Alfred Mifsud

Feb 22nd, 16:31

I have not seen the documentary but then I have been following Mintoff for nearly fifty years so I think my views on him will not be influenced by any documentary.

There is an enigma about Mintoff's character principally becasue there are two Mintoffs. There is the Mintoff pre 1979 where he worked with missionary zeal to achieve the objective of true independence for Malta, free from military basis and with an economy diversified based on non-military activities, especially after his utopian dream of integration with Britain with parity of rights was crushed in 1958. Then there is the Mintoff post 1979 who lacked a true mission and turned into a rebel without a cause.

Where I struggle to find a convincing explanation about Mintoff is the use of violence under his leadership as a political tool. My best interpretation is that Mintoff in his quest for "liberation" had so many opponents from diverse sources, ( the British Government, the political adverseries, the Church, the upper classes of society, the media, the business lobbies etc.) that to ensure that his team remain loyal and compact he had to resort to the threat of violence to whoever tried to create divisions ( e.g. the attempt to buy a Labour MP to cross the floor following the 1971 election victory).

Mintoff never really wanted to use violence as a political tool against his poltical adverseries. Mintoff is a democrat at heart and detested violence except where like in 1958 he was bare-facedly leading it from the trenches. However once he decided, or had no option in order to survive, to use the threat of violence as a poltical tool, he had no total control to ensure that the threat remains a threat and often it escaped his hands and translated into real violence, much to his displeasure.

Whatever, for what he did until 1979 he deserves a place amongst Malta's best.

MALCOLM SEYCHELL

Feb 22nd, 16:28

De Marco should be the PN leader. He is a moderate person with excellent communication skills. X differenza min Gonzi. Ibza min ta gewwa Dr De Marco

R. Balzan

Feb 22nd, 16:24

It's common sense that you don't seek any view on Mintoff from a person who is ingrained in politics on the opposite side of the spectrum. Unfortunately even most established local historians are biased one way or the other and I have yet to see an objective, impartial historical narration of what Dom Mintoff stood for this past half century. Maybe his autobiography would go some way to fill this void.

Wally Vella-Zarb

Feb 22nd, 16:17

There speaks an honest man. Politicians, past and present, please sit up and listen; you might learn that there is something more to politics than partisan spin.