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Sunday, April 8, 2012 by

Christian Peregin

A progressive MintoffYana

Dom Mintoff’s daughter is a candidate for what Labour leader Joseph Muscat calls his movement of progressives and moderates. Yana Mintoff Bland tells Christian Peregin she is the progressive part.

You spent most of your life out of the country. What made you leave?

We need to think about where capitalism is going today. When you don’t have a good trade union movement, you see conditions deteriorate.

Work opportunities and education. When I first left I was very young and there was the interdiction of the Labour leaders. I couldn’t go to secondary school here without going to a Church school and since our family was being persecuted, my parents thought it best for me to go abroad.

What was life like as Dom Mintoff’s daughter? Did you feel privileged or victimised?

I was like any other girl, really. In my current house visits, my constituents say they remember me running around the bastions barefoot. I was a rather wild Maltese girl. But I remember seeing girls my age begging, so that affected me...

The poverty?

Yes. We worked hard in our household but we weren’t in poverty.

Did you manage to have a normal father-daughter relationship? Did you see Dom Mintoff as a politician or a father?

Well, I can’t divide the two. My father was on a mission to help the Maltese people so I knew him as a determined person doing something. We always had politicians at home who played with me while they were waiting. But my father always found time for the family. Every day we would go for a walk together or swimming. These were the most wonderful moments.

What mark have your travels left on you?

You’re always framed by your experiences. I’ve worked a lot with students who were not successful at school. I’ve worked mostly in the fields of education but also political activism... human rights and peace. And yes, I’ve learnt a great deal. There’s good and bad in every place and every person. You look for the good and try to do good...

My father always told me to find my own path and I did. I think it was important for me not to take advantage of his successes, to make my own path and not piggyback on his legacy, you could say.

You have reacted to the latest documentary about your father, Dear Dom. You took offence to the fact that it was written in the form of a letter and yet was not given to your father first for him to respond. Had you never heard of the concept of an open letter?

Well my father is here and very up-to-date with events, so an open letter addressed openly – not to a particular person – and a letter to someone who is still up-to-date with events, are two different things.

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The filmmaker, Pierre Ellul, had tried to make contact with your father but got nowhere.

He says he tried some years back to contact my dad. And he probably did. I think he tried to fax him from England.

Your dad was never very accessible for interviews.

No.

So do you think he would have responded if the filmmaker tried harder?

He might not. But I think some respect is due and as a sign of respect he should have given the family a preview. We had to contact him.

But then he accommodated you and even changed the original date when you couldn’t make it.

Yes, but still.

Do you think people should boycott the film?

It’s totally up to them. Personally, as I said, I think it’s shallow and it’s part of Nationalist propaganda.

Is your father going to see it?

We’ll see. He hasn’t really mentioned it. He just asked about the right of reply.

You were also upset that public funds were used for the film’s production...

Yes, how many? No one knows...

The figure is about €54,000.

Well, it’s not peanuts.

Another four films were also allocated money by the Malta Film Fund. If you were in government administering a fund like this, would you not allow films of a political nature to benefit?

I would think you have to set up a board with people from both sides.

Labourites and Nationalists?

Yes. I’ve always worked with committees. I find them really good. When I ran entities or a school I would use committees and get an objective view in the end.

And do you think if this went through such a process the money would not have been allocated?

I don’t know but that’s how I would work. I would also work with a lot of transparency. The fact that you had to dig out the number...

Well, I asked the Office of the Prime Minister.

Good job, because transparency in any organisation is very important. You have to have accountability. It’s very important with real democracy to have that kind of accountability and I see that as a major failing today in Malta. For instance, the government never declared it was giving an extra €7,000 to its people.

The duty allowance to Cabinet, you mean?

Yes, it’s that kind of leadership that encourages other people to be dishonest. And it comes from the top, where you have to have very high standards. I really think we’re on an unsustainable path in Malta.

Going back to the film, many young people who were brought up to view your father as a tyrant saw a different side to the man: a charismatic negotiator with a sense of humour. Some said it was too lenient. How does it feel to hear people say that when you thought it was disgusting?

I didn’t say it was disgusting, but what I think happened to the younger generation is they have been fed a pack of lies about the party. To say he is a tyrant is a lie. He believes in human rights. He can get enraged, yes. But even The Times has consistently used labels like dictator and tyrant. So I think it’s good now that people are looking at things in more detail.

So in a way this film helps us revisit history and that’s a good thing.

It’s always good to revisit history.

You said you were seeking legal advice. What did your lawyers tell you?

That’s no comment.

You wouldn’t like to tell us if you’re going to take action or not?

No. No comment.

Turning to your new political career, what made you get into politics now, after so long?

Let’s look at the facts. We’ve got 38 per cent of our students failing school. That’s terribly high. They don’t have a future ahead of them. We have one of the highest illiteracy rates in Europe. We can’t just sit back and let that go on, it’s scandalous.

At the moment I’m going around Valletta, to areas like Due Balli and Mandraġġ. Everyone is very welcoming and I must say their homes are spotless. But the conditions are horrendous. In some cases it’s like we’re living in a Third World country.

Do you think nothing has changed?

Many things have changed but now things are changing for the worse. The gap between rich and poor is growing. And it’s like people don’t care. It’s like we’re losing our soul.

So did Joseph Muscat approach you or did you approach him about getting involved in the Labour Party?

We talked about certain issues of mutual concern.

Who extended the invitation?

It was through friends and then he invited me to come to the conference. I think he’s an exceptional leader, very good at uniting people.

How did your father react when you told him you would be contesting the election?

He was very pleased.

Former Labour leader Alfred Sant had sidelined the Mintoffians. How did you feel about that? How did your father feel when he was called a traitor? Is the hurt still there?

It was a very sad time.

Even for you?

For everyone in the party. You don’t like to see a party disintegrate like that.

Now things seem to be changing and many Mintoffians are returning into the heart of the Labour Party. Do you think Dr Muscat is being truer to Labour’s history? How do you feel about the fact that people like you are being welcomed with open arms?

It’s very good. He’s attracting many young, good intelligent people, and yes, more Mintoffjani, so I think it’s good.

Obviously this irks some people too.

But I think he’s good at steering the boat. As you know there’s a civil war going on in the Nationalist Party, but that’s democracy.

What differences and similarities do you see between the Labour Party today and the one your father led?

I think the central beliefs are there: that the majority of people need to have respect and the majority of people are the working class. So I think that’s what unites us – that we care about the majority of people having a decent life and not falling into poverty and ignorance.

In other ways it’s different. Just having young people demanding civil rights, like the gay movement and divorce movement, makes a big difference. When I was active in the 1980s I would say things like that but I was the only one.

In fact, some people who know you told me you are “as liberal as they come”. How liberal are you?

When I ran my school in Texas I allowed students full participation. Most had been bullied or were particularly clever and did not fit in the usual school situation. I wanted to use a creative model, so after full discussions, we had a situation where the students could vote for the board of trustees. That way they played a part in the running of the school. Obviously, the students had guidelines because you have to have discipline. But that is an example of how liberal I am.

But in the 1980s, you said you were the only person talking about divorce and gay rights. We’re still discussing these issues here. Do you think you are too liberal for Malta?

No, I feel I am very much a fish in my water. I’m not really representing those particular cases so much as the need for the working class in Malta to have good conditions at work, pensioners to have liveable pensions, social services being liveable... Of course, you want to overcome laziness and fraud, but to have a decent and high quality of life is something we can do.

That is something all politicians say. It’s a question of whether one can actually do them.

Well, I’m used to making a difference.

What I meant is that you’ve fought for causes such as women’s rights. So how do you feel about issues like reproductive rights and abortion, for instance?

The main thing I feel about women in this country is the problem of domestic violence. I think it is scandalous that we have the highest incidence of domestic violence in Europe.

What, according to you, leads to it?

I think it comes from the fact that we’ve lost our values. I think it’s to do with the justice system, that the perpetrators are not held responsible quickly enough.

You didn’t answer my question about abortion.

I think it’s a big debate. I couldn’t answer it in a word. It’s a big debate.

Is it something you feel we need to discuss though? At the moment we seem to be discussing these moral issues a lot.

Yes, we should discuss. Why not? I believe in a good discussion based on facts and balance. But with all these rights, there are responsibilities too. We need to think about where capitalism is going today. When you don’t have a good trade union movement, you see conditions deteriorate. People work really long hours, children are abandoned and then you get single parents. With extra rights, like divorce, we need to have education about the responsibilities because children are our future.

Are there issues in which you are not in agreement with Dr Muscat, though? He believes in civil partnerships but not gay marriage, for instance.

I didn’t really know his position on that. We haven’t discussed it.

Do you feel you fit into what Dr Muscat calls a movement of progressives and moderates?

Well, I’m very progressive.

Not so much moderate?

I’m passionate, I would say.

Progressive seems to mean many things to many different people. Your comments about the film did not sound very progressive.

Am I not allowed my opinion?

But you implied the filmmaker should be taken to court.

I didn’t. A journalist (on TVM) asked me what I’m doing and I said I’m consulting a lawyer. I’m not a lawyer, I’m an economist, so I have no idea.

So you don’t feel action should be taken?

I have no idea. I don’t think it is good historical research and I’ve said that. The interviewer asked me if I’m doing anything and I said I’m talking to a lawyer.

As an activist, you were not particularly moderate. Once you were arrested and fined for hurling manure in the House of Commons. What was that about?

That was about human rights. I knew people who were subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment in the prisons in Northern Ireland who wanted a united island free of military forces. I was particularly close to a mother who had two sons and one husband in prison. I won’t go through their conditions because they were horrendous.

We had blanket protests where she would dress up in a blanket because the prisoners did not have clothes. So we would raise awareness by setting up meetings with MPs and journalists.

If the issue had been addressed at the time in a democratic and reasonable way it would have avoided people like Bobby Sands (imprisoned IRA member) dying of a hunger strike. It was a desperate situation where hundreds of people were imprisoned under British rule in Northern Ireland. That’s what motivated me.

So you don’t regret it?

No.

I would need more facts on that.

Watch excerpts of the interview.

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139 Comments

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Wenzu Vella

Jun 2nd 2012, 09:29

Reading these comments in this section make me think how many people in this world wants to stay living in the past. The stupid part about it is that most of you people had a better start than most attaining tertiary education and well paid employment.

Has this improved your way of thinking does not look it, why? You are still living in the 70’ and 80’s. I am a senior citizen and my motto has always been to move on in life. Always try for the best because that is the only way forward. We should learn from the past so that we can improve the future.

Charles Said-Vassallo

May 18th 2012, 11:32

I thought Yana had a great interview. I wish her alot of success in Politics. She seems very genuine and will possibly be a future Prime Minister one day.

Anthea Agius

Apr 16th 2012, 11:43

I am really struck by the personal experiences of horror and trauma from both sides ... there are so many people who have not had closure and who still suffer the trauma and the anger of this history. This country needs to heal. I think we need to stop being afraid of talking about the past and encourage people to express themselves more and more openly. I think that whoever has the interest of this country at heart should try and moderate an open two way dialogue towards closure and healing so that one day we may actually mature and a country and move on to the next step in our history.

Ms Sandra Grech

Apr 11th 2012, 12:50

@ David Bezzina: Social services and all the other good stuff you think Mintoff did, that would have happened anyway, without Dom, as it was time for them to happen anyway. Mintoff was just a big curse for this country, and if you ever travel abroad Malta was given a very bad name bacause of him, and people will find it very hard to forget all the bad he did.

Wenzu Vella

Jun 2nd 2012, 08:44

Ms Greck, all the good that Mr Mintoff has done in his time as Prime Minister is still there for everyone to enjoy including you. Both MLP and PN have done well in their time, but a lot of mistakes have been done by both parties too. The problem with people like you is that you prefer the scaremongering parts because you think this will keep scaring people.
You are failing to understand that most people like to move on in life and you are going to be left behind unless you change with the times.

marc pace

Apr 10th 2012, 12:15

if labour is elections there will be the reincarnation of lorry sant and the violent disruptions of pn meetings and the censuring of words linked to pn... yana during your father's rule nardu debono was killed in the police depot,wilfred cardona was found under a rubble wall and raymond caruana was killed in cold blood during a christmas party in the gudja pn club and then pietru pawl busuttil was framed for the murder.... if you were rich in mintoff's time and you were an importer hell make u pay loads more tax even for the simplest of things and then try to throw you in jail on a fake charge... YANA BEFORE YOU SPEAK GETS YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!!!!!!!!

Francis Saliba M.D.

Apr 10th 2012, 10:20

@ David Bezzina (today at 08:32).

If that is your best effort to engage in logical argument, then it is your contribution that is boring and (un)rethorical. The intelligent electorate has twenty five years (not just these last four years) of almost uninterrupted peaceful NP government by which to judge as against a miniscule twenty two months of chaos under Sant and the violent, tyrannical government under Mintoff and KMB.

Francis Saliba M.D.

Apr 10th 2012, 05:07

Joseph Muscat is trying to do the impossible - running with the fox and chasing with the hounds. On one hand he is trying to create the impression of a laundered squeaky clean "new" labour and on the other he is endorsing those who operated the old Mintoffian MLP with its inexcusable record of programmed admissible political violence (Mintoff's sixth point). Muscat is trying to be all things to all men. An intelligent electorate should be able to see through that lack of sincerity.

David Bezzina

Apr 10th 2012, 08:32

Always same boring rhetoric Mr.Saliba.The electorate are intelligent enough to know who took them for a ride these last 4 years.And it is not Joseph Muscat.

Angus Black

Apr 9th 2012, 19:26

Yana Mintoff hija z-zejt li se jinqela fih Joseph Muscat.

Ma Yana, wiehed ma jistax ma jinkludix lill AST, Karmenu Vella, Joe Debono Grech, Leo Brincat u skoss antekalji ta zmien dak ix-xahhieh Duminku Mintoff! Zgur li se jiehu l-miljuni mieghu.

Dak partit! Ta min jiftahar bih heqq! Dawk ghandu - veru partit ta l-iddubbar kollox jaghddi kemm jinqeda, u ta medjokreta spjetata.

G Schembri

Apr 10th 2012, 00:13

Id-differenza bejn IZ-ZEWG PARTITI hija wahda. Li tal-PN kienu jitfghu l-gebla u jahbi jdejhom, u qatt ma accettaw il hazin li ghamlu. Fil-waqt li tal-MLP kull ma kienu jaghmlu kienu jaghmluh fil-miftuh, u l-leaders taghhom kienu jitolbu skuza. Meta tal-PN sawtu n-nies u kisru wara l-elezjoni tal-1987 EFA qal li din kienet biss efforija ta wara r-rebha. Kellu bzon xi hadd jikteb l-istorja kif veru grat, mhux kif pingewa l-propogandisti tal-PN.

Anthony Scicluna

Apr 9th 2012, 16:36

@Robert Henry Bugeja
I am not from the Nationalist Party - I am Maltese interested in the welfare of my country and my fellow citizens. Neither am I one to defend the archaic mentality some of the members of government have. I remember the divorce issue and I, for one, condemned the way the PN campaigned against it, understood that some of the party elements could not vote against their conscience, felt frustrated at the fact that these consciences conflicted with the will of the people and was relieved that government yielded to the will of the people and legislated in favour of the majority.

" I think the argument should be focused primarily on the capabilites of the person in office rather than on his personal milage."

I agree whole-heartedly and I believe that some members of parliament should not be there ...

"Morever, a true politician "should be man enough and capabile enough to understand" by himself when his time in office is up and when the people do not want him any longer... I'm sure you got that."

What I have to "get" from that comment is unclear. Anyway, there are few true politicians and among the ranks of the labour party are a number of people who were at least well aware of the bullying and human rights violations under Mintoff. Is that moderate? Is that progressive? Or would you like to return to the time when people are beaten up just for being different? Don't you find the dismissive remarks of Dr Mintoff on her father's track record on human rights offensive? I do for a variety of direct experiences as the others below mention. While I do not agree with the PN, I feel safe enough to speak my mind. In those days you couldn't and if you are anywhere close to being 40 or over you should know that!

Tony Brincat

Apr 9th 2012, 13:21

Dom Mintoff caused the fall of Labour not once but THREE times. 1950, 1958 and 1998. He effectively ended his career the way he started. It bewilders me how certain factors are forgotten and how he has managed to hoodwink his flock.

Not only that but we have been fed the spin that he freed us from colonialism when 1. he wanted integration with Britain 2. he resigned in 1958 making Malta lose self-government and subjecting us to the Governor once again and 3. And as for Freedom Day - he renegotiated the independence treaty by extending it so that they left in 1979 and not 1974. It is true that he managed to get a lot more money from Nato when he negotiated the extension - but then let us call it what it is, not what it is not.

Francis Saliba M.D.

Apr 9th 2012, 12:30

@ Frank Zammit (Yesterday, 22:50)

No, sir! In my opinion, floating voters floating voters are usually too intelligent and too indipendent to heed anybody else's advice how to vote. In any case I would never presume to advise them to vote for YOUR your "oligarchy, the web of evil and incompetence". You see, I do have a life and the intelligence that goes with it.

Lawrence Fenech

Apr 9th 2012, 11:04

FOR SALE 1 parliament hardly used, always garaged, low milage, best offer secures.

Johann Camilleri

Apr 9th 2012, 10:53

And yet Mintoff never managed to beat Malta's only true and by far (but far) the greatest statesman Eddie Fenech Adami.

He didn't beat him a single time! Stomach that if you can!

May you rot in hell Dom Mintoff, and when you kick the bucket you will go knowing "lanqas toqghod hdejn il-kallu ta' Eddie Fenech Adami"

Mintoff will be remembered by history as the greatest curse to afflict this country of our!

David Bezzina

Apr 10th 2012, 08:38

WHENEVER YOU RECEIVE YOUR FIRST PENSION CHEQUE REMEMBER THAT IT WAS THANKS TO THAT MAN WHO WAS MALTA'S BIGGEST CURSE THAT YOU ARE RECEIVING IT.

Robert Henry Bugeja

Apr 9th 2012, 10:30

@ Anthony Scicluna...before anyone from the Nationalist Party starts pointing fingers at some old timers in the Labour Party s/he should first take a good look at the archiac mentality, some ministers (and even the Prime minister himself) have regarding many contemparary issues concerning the general public in 2012 (Remember the divorce issue?). So, its not a question of age or the yrs one has spent in parliament but rather how s/he is capable of adopting to the times and to new realities. Having said that, even in the today's PN , for example, there are still members from 30 yrs ago who served under different administrations. I think the argument should be focused primarily on the capabilites of the person in office rather than on his personal milage. Morever, a true politician "should be man enough and capabile enough to understand" by himself when his time in office is up and when the people do not want him any longer... I'm sure you got that.

Kevin Wain

Apr 9th 2012, 09:59

It is confusing of the PL to try to appeal to the liberals of our society and, accept this kind of candidate for the next general election. To begin with, I believe that there is a confusion here, i.e. the way in which we tend to confuse being secular with being liberal. They are two different though related aspects. It is possible to be secular and unliberal at the same time. If we are to take North Korea, a country of this kind is secular, i.e. that the way it operates is not conditioned by institutionalized religions based on a God. Liberal is a different notion altogether i.e. being secular does not neccessarily entail freedom of expression as being an accepted norm in North Korea. Millions congregated in a quasi-religion ritual after the death of Kim-Jong-Il, not for a God, but for what they perceive as their great leader, a substitute for a God, a secular religion is in place there. Now take the Mintoff years, the ex-PM was seen by some as a quasi God. Was that his fault? I would say, yes, because of the paternalistic and patronizing way in which he portrayed himself. Was freedom of expression allowed at the time? I would say that my notion of the time is that of a country in which freedom of expression was limited, with thugs including some in the police corp and dockyard, brutally enforcing themselves on those who might have thought things differently to the MLP party line. An aspect I see dangerous in Dr. Mintoff Bland is the glorification of the working class which excludes the middle class as portrayed in this interview, which in the years in which her father was PM led to the oppression of the latter. Another problem I see in Dr. Mintoff Bland, is the way in which she consulted a lawyer about the documentary about her father. Is she against freedom of expression? Is she favoring the kind of oppression that has brought thuggery to our country in the past, when her dad was then prime minister? Is it a sin to criticise is-salvatur or, missier il-poplu Malti. Ought the film producer be punished for talking about the almighty Perit?

Antoine Vella

Apr 9th 2012, 11:25

The position of Joseph Muscat regarding Mintoff is not the result of confusion but of arrogance.

He thinks that he has already acquired the vote of "liberals' and can therefore afford to turn to the old Mintoffian guard. it is up to the electorate to disabuse him of this presumption.

I think I speak for thousand of Mintoff's victims when I say that, whatever else the PL is offering, its return to rabid Mintoffianism is reason enough to keep it in Opposition for another term.

Until they learn.

P. Ciantar

Apr 9th 2012, 09:58

has she ever visted her father before in the last 40 years? this is just a question.

Jonathan Deeley

Apr 9th 2012, 09:57

The traumatic chapter in British history concerning the IRA hunger strikers would require a far more balanced analysis than this lady appears capable of providing.

Mario Tabone

Apr 9th 2012, 09:48

MintoffYana......they say these traits run in the family and I can certainly see where you get yours from.
Stop trying to portray yourself as some sort of democratic wannabe member of parliament because both you and I and the rest of these islands know that is not the case. I see an opportunist who having lived the good life in other democratic countries while your father was committing crimes for which in today's Human Rights Climate around the world he would be lynched , and rightly so too.
Your father while in power condoned beatings and mob rule against opposition supporters. I experienced these at first hand. During election time while transporting OAP's to vote in Hamrun I was attacked by one of these mobs at the time led by the late Danny Cremona. I was again attacked in Luqa again while collecting OAP's from the hospital there. At a poitical party meeting near Hamrun/Blata il-bajda partisan police attacked PN supporters weilding batons and beating anybody including women and kids indiscriminately. I was present on more than one occasion when MLP supporters attacked the Hamrun PN club and tried to get in, ably supported by the police who parked their bus in front supposedly to look like protecting the premises when in fact they let MLP supporters use it as a stepping stone to reach the balcony seeing they could not get in through the front thick metal door we had installed !!!!
What did your father do about all this MintoffYana ? Precisely Nothing !!!!
Then again you contesting the elections under the MLP mantel could maybe have another motive. Dare I say it would lead to you trying to oust the present leader and have a member of the Mintoff family leading your sorry party again ? Time will tell but personally I would not trust you as far as I could throw you !!!!!

Anthony Scicluna

Apr 9th 2012, 09:05

@ Robert Henry Bugeja
Dear Mr Bugeja
That is not the point even though you are correct to point out that in the 60s the PN-Church manipulated (one cannot deny history).

The problem is that Dr J Muscat is bringing in people who were involved in that past. It is like bringing in the old regime members back. The past is past but JM is bringing it back with the likes of Mintoff, Sciberras Trigona, Vella, Debono Grech, Grima and so on. We'd have less issues were these people not involved at all.

We cannot deny our history and we should not try to bring the bad part back. That aspect is not liberal moderate progress but radical hard line regress ... what message is Dr Muscat giving the people he is attempting to entice? And this is a real question not a PN apologist one ...

Ms Sandra Grech

Apr 9th 2012, 08:41

And the film is shallow allright dear Yana,. Very tame comapred to the real Dom!

Ms Sandra Grech

Apr 9th 2012, 08:38

That says it all: she left for work opportunities and education, at least she had the chance to leave, the rest of us had to suffer under her dad.

Gustav Svensson

Apr 9th 2012, 08:09

If I was the Labour leader I would distance myself from this person.. to bring her on is to leave an open goal for Gonzi

Francis Saliba M.D.

Apr 9th 2012, 06:19

How many more years does Yana Bland Mintoff need before she collects "more facts" about her father's abysmal record of trampling underfoot the fundamental human rights of the rest of the nation? Any prudent person would have concluded that search for facts before, not after, submitting her candidature in the next impending attempt to re-introduce that type of (mis)rule.

Karl Consiglio

Apr 9th 2012, 00:51

She looks like him.

pat muscat

Apr 8th 2012, 21:37

As if one needs further proof that the documentary 'Dear Dom' is part of an ongoing onslaught on Dom's social conscience! Just read the comments by the 'holier than thou brigades' on dear old Dom , or his daughter, to understand how much hatred people harbour.I am old enough to remember my old father's sayings: ' Believe no tales from an enemy's tongue!

Angelo Vassallo

Apr 8th 2012, 21:35

@ Wally Vella-Zarb

"Let me remind you that Gonzi is in power with a relative MAJORITY "

In 1981 the MAJORITY of those who voted did NOT vote for Dom Mintoff, and yes, technically and undemocratically the labour government with which we had been saddled for stayed there for five years and five months (ghax IGGRANFAJTU MAS-SIGGIJIET TAL-PARLAMENT) WAS "against the WILL OF THE MAJORITY".

"Nies bhalek jiskantawni kif jippruvaw jghawgu l-istorja u l-hmieg taghhom ituh lill-haddiehor u jahsbu li ser jirnexxilhom." Fdan il-kaz inti ma rnexxilekx.

@ G Schembri

I must tell you again that you do not know what you are talking about. Lawrence Gonzi never lost the majority in Parliament. The vote was called by jm leader of the opposition, thinking that he was to gather a majority for his vote, something that it did not come true. So it is jm of the pl who has NO MAJORITY in Parliament.

Yes your are trying to distort history, but obviously in vain.

J. Debono

Apr 8th 2012, 21:28

The problem with PL is, as Yana well said, that the party is attracting back Mintoffjani.

We got rid of them, we were living in peace, why bring them back????!!!!

Remember, that the PL will probably win the elections. If there are Mintoffjani in their midst, then poor Malta, and the Maltese people.

Joseph Cauchi Senior

Apr 8th 2012, 20:45

Walking barefoot on the bastions!

Which bastions, Valletta or Cospicua?

As far as I know Mintoff and his family lived in Paola Road, Tarxien, next to Wiġi ta’ L-Inbid and the school Immaculate Conception and nowhere near the bastions of Valletta or Cospicua!

How do I know, because I lived just few yards round the corner from the Mintoff’s in St. Joseph’s Street, Tarxien, in the early 50’s and as a young boy almost the same age as Joan and Anne’s I used to see them carried along with their mother (the great benevolent Moira) to the bakery of George tal-Forn just round the corner from Nona tal-Grocer.

So, Joan or Yana or whatever, please don’t say you ran barefoot on those bastions, for goodness sake!

JC.

Steve Sant

Apr 8th 2012, 20:44

What a great ploy, and here we thought the Nationalists had no chance with the next elections, the tides are turning and all that misery and discontent of the 70's and 80's re-emerge. Whoever is behind this plan is definitely a genius or incredibly devious.

Ignore this scenario, it will only help the wrong.
Mintoff was and is now no longer.
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

Francis Saliba M.D.

Apr 8th 2012, 20:37

@ Robert Calafato (today at 19:36)

The capacity to forgive is due towards those who do not know that what they did was evil or who show repentance for those evil deeds. It is not due to those who resurface from distant obscurity abroad in order to contribute their mite so as to reinstate the protagonists of a proven state of violence or who pretend to "need more facts" to pierce their tightly shut eyes.

Angus Black

Apr 8th 2012, 20:02

Walking barefoot along the bastions? Seeing other 'poor kids'? I wonder whether the poor kids wore shoes or sandals? Would other kids have seen Yana, as anther 'poor kid' deprived even of a pair of cheap shoes? Too bad her mother is no longer with us because only she could shed some light on how 'progressively Dom' treated her.

Mintoff and progress simply do not go together and Yana would have known that, had she lived in Malta through her father's despotic years.

Francis Saliba M.D.

Apr 8th 2012, 19:49

Progressive means looking forward not backwards. It is not enough for Joseph Muscat to re-christen an MLP - that the Malta electorate has consigned to the doldrums of the opposition benches for decades continuously (well, almost continuously) - as some new LP.

Bringing Mintoff era skeletons out of musty cupboards and rattling their bones in the face of that same electorate simply won't wash with the all-important intelligent floating voters that determine success in elections that are always a close shave.

Frank Zammit

Apr 8th 2012, 22:50

So in your opinion floating voters should vote for the oligarchy, the web of evil and incompetence? Wow that is really intelligent and progressive. Get a life Francis Saliba M.D.

Robert Calafato

Apr 8th 2012, 19:38

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mr Edward Caruana Galizia

Apr 8th 2012, 20:03

Forgiveness cannot take place when the pain caused is denied. The more they avoid the subject, the more they twist things round and claim that the pain and troubles were all made up, the harder it is to forgive.

They will never confront the people who were directly hurt by Mintoff. They will never sit down and listen to the truth of what it was like to live with him as a PM.

Richard Caruana

Apr 9th 2012, 07:26

Forgive, yes; forget, no, and doing that would be at our own peril

Mr Edward Caruana Galizia

Apr 8th 2012, 19:12

1) Your family wasn’t being persecuted. Your family was being treated by the Church the same way as every other Communist sympathizer around the world. Communism then was what Al Qaeda is today. The US used to do much worse than the Church in Malta. They used to arrest and interrogate people and these people would lose their jobs.

2) Nationalist propaganda? Do you even know what that word means? The PN haven’t sold anyone a bag of lies. And if you need more proof of your father’s way of leading then why don t you read up about his friend Lorry Sant for a start. And then move on to his buddy Col Gaddafi.

3) With regards to propaganda, I would call much of what you say propaganda, trying to make the PN out to be some sort of horror story when they have given us everything your father took away and then some. My guess is you have been coached very well. Your father stripped us of any pride we ever had. It has taken the PN a generation to get this country back on its feet. Your father brought us to our knees.

4) If you want to be liberal then don’t try and sue a film maker for making a film regardless of what that film is and don’t even think of consulting a lawyer. Also, you’d better inform your supporters what it means to be liberal, some of them are running a homophobic hate blog to silence a journalist. Or is that just their opinion too?

5) The way you describe what went on in Ireland sounds a lot like what was going on here in Malta.

6) Re: Human Rights in Malta: Just search for Lorry Sant on the TOM.com website to start with.

As for all those who talk about knowing both sides of the story. There are no two sides about it. Knowing what it was like to be punished under Mintoff for not supporting his government, and knowing what it was like to receive preferential treatment for voting for him is not knowing two sides of a story. It is exactly the same side. A dictator shows preference to one group, while persecuting the other. Just like Mintoff’s buddy Col Gaddafi did.

I would like to see this woman sit down with people who were badly treated by her father and listen to what they have to say. I imagine there is a reason why the PL haven't even bothered to do this. They know that they will be confronted by the reality they so desperately try to run away from.

Daniel Dimech

Apr 8th 2012, 20:20

fuq it tieni punt ghandek zball KBIR HAFNA staqsi lil tat tarzna , kaccaturi , lil tas sea malta u kulhadd min ircieva ittra biex iserrah mohhu!!!! le ma bieghux gideb

Robert Henry Bugeja

Apr 9th 2012, 07:31

....Reality is what is actually hitting the Maltese elecorate today Edward (not yeserday). That is what they care about and that is what they will be voting on this coming election...Your pathetic argument holds no ground anymore...PAST PAST PAST....as if your party's past was divine and perfectly clean. In the sixties, Borg Oliver knew that he did not stand a miniscule chance to win against Mintoff if his coalition with Mgr. Gonzi's Church was not on. A Church who was so powerful at that time, that it managed to instill fear in people's minds to vote against Labour. I tell you my friend that those dark days were marked by fear, intimidation and manipulation...and the PN (1962. 1966) in government was ok with it....What a gloriuos past, eh? Tell us more pls Ed...

Mr Edward Caruana Galizia

Apr 9th 2012, 11:14

You judge someone on their past.

Secondly, the past of the PN that you are referring to is not the past the is threatening to come back is it? It is the past of the PL that is calling itself glorious and telling us to vote for it AGAIN.

So yes, the PL's past is extremely relevant, more so than ever, because it is their past that they themselves admit they want to bring back.

P. Ciantar

Apr 9th 2012, 17:15

@ Robert It seems LP sypathizers are always ashamed of their past !!!!!

Mr Edward Caruana Galizia

Apr 10th 2012, 01:07

Yes it is typical of people, after joining in with the crowd and carrying out shameful acts, to later on reflect on their actions with disgust.

When there were the London riots last Summer a lot of people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and joined in with the mob not because they are delinquents or deprived youths but because they are human, and what they experienced is part of the human condition. In fact the next day quite a few turned themselves in, disgusted by their actions.

The same with the PL supporters, although since the PL keep on standing up for its supporters, they will always be given a way out which means they will never accept, understand or admit to their actions which they keep hidden even to themselves. Accepting their actions would be too difficult for them.

Emanuel Micallef

Apr 8th 2012, 18:58

il mlp stess uza aggettiv fil birgu dwar dom.

Emanuel Micallef

Apr 8th 2012, 18:56

hi inti qed tgawdi liberta go londra.din hi verita. issa ghadda.din hija l istorja. kulhadd ghandu tajjeb u l hazin. imma kulhadd jaf li vjolenza kienet hajja ta dak iz-zmien

Marco Galea

Apr 8th 2012, 18:41

PROGRESSIVE MINTOFFYANA! I see what you did there Times, good use of sarcasm!

Progressive? progressive? what's progressive in this woman? all I read in this interview is past, past, past ... progressive is suing a film director because of a film he directed? That's dictatorship (from the party who opposes censorship SUPPOSEDLY) and not progressive!

beppe fenech adami

Apr 8th 2012, 18:27

15th october 1979. I was a young 11 year old at my home in B'kara when your father's
protected thugs attacked and ransacked our home. On that day myself together with my
brothers and eighty year old grandmother fled for our lives over the neighbouring
roof tops. On that day your fathers protected thugs beat up my mother who tried to
enter our house to save us. On that day, at the same time all this was happening,
your fathers propoganda machine, through his state television, invented a lie and
broadcast that nationalist party supporters were ransacking the MLP B'kara. All this
Ms Yana Mintoff might help you to form an opinion on the democratic credentials of
your father. These facts might help you to understand what a mockery your father
made of human rights. I am sure that so many other people have their story to tell.

Beppe Fenech Adami

Ethelbert Schembri

Apr 8th 2012, 20:20

And in those days we lived in fear of a bomb exploding on our home because my father was an MLP supporter !!
Those days bombs had the tendency to explode in particular and sensitive places to help the propaganda machine of your father !!
Yes you are right, everyone has his own story to tell and if one just think that in the case of the attack of your home when you was a little boy, that I condemn, no one was arrested not even recognized!! Like when a group of unknown individuals attacked The Times, there again no one was arrested and not even recognized. The victimizing card was easy to play!!
Some stories were just way too suspicious to believe if one just stopped and think with his own free mind !!
Again .. I hope you recovered after that particular incident because not everyone could recover from those days !!

Ivan Grech Mintoff

Apr 8th 2012, 22:47

Dr Fenech Adami,

Those were horrrible horrible times.

Just for the record I too remember being petrified.

-As a 13 year old boy I even remember seeing my mum punched in the face by PN Thugs.

- I to remember being horrified at what happened to Karen Grech and thinking "thereby for the grace of God go I".

- At the same era, I also remember having SCOTLAND YARD inspectors coming to my school and telling me that a threat had been put on my and my brother's life. We were not even to go into town on our own or get onto any cars even if I'm told to get in quick as mum had been in an accident etc...

- I also remember distinctly my Cousin Laurence Mintoff and his then BABY having beer bottles thrown at him (and the baby) from the roof of a PN club in Rahal Gdid or Traxien as they walked by...

- Oh and we still have the knife that was thrown from a roof top and very narrowly missing my mother as she took me to play at a friend's house.

Yes indeed Dr, Adami, there are many who have stories from those eras and I am sure up to present times to tell. Human rights? What human rights? And to top it up, we then have people who claim to be knights in shining armour defending democracy and human rights.

Thankfully we know the other side of the coin too. I think that this was a very, very bad era in our history that started as soon as Dr GBO was deposed and ended when PN took over government.

marius look forward

Apr 8th 2012, 23:03

Always about Labour why we don t talk about the years between 60 and 70 when the Nationalists in power trew out before christmas my father and mother in law and there 11 children because their house was to be given to a nationalist family.
And why always go back to the past look in what state the country is because you people always bla bla bla bla bla filling your pockets and the pockets of your friends and the rest you don t care for.
But a few month s more and your fairytale is over thank you for that.
Viva Malta with a new goverment. Marius

Frank Zammit

Apr 8th 2012, 23:53

I agree totally with what you have said and you have every right to feel like you do. Yes it was horrible and disgusting. No other words to describe what you have been through just as much as you agree me with me that the persecution that the Labour supporters of the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s had to endure amounts to nothing but a monumental violation of human rights.

Where was the PN then? I tell you where the PN was. The PN was busy forming a partnership with the perpetuators of this calamity. Isn't the defamation of the dead just for supporting a political Party the worst kind of human right violation? is that democracy? Have you ever wondered what could have been had the PN opposed the oppression instead of tacitly agreeing to such abusive practice ?

adrian attard

Apr 8th 2012, 18:01

she doesn't even know how to put two words together and form a phrase

Mr Peter Barbara

Apr 8th 2012, 17:48

The best question in this interview was saved for the last and says it all.

Mr Edward Caruana Galizia

Apr 8th 2012, 20:17

I agree 100%. The answer speaks volumes.

Mr Joe Borg

Apr 8th 2012, 17:47

The end of the interview is unbelivable!

I know it must be difficult for her to relialize and accept the truth about her father. Until then, she should have never put herself into politics.

George mifsud

Apr 8th 2012, 17:40

hasra li spicca majar traditur mil partit li bena. geo

Mr charles azzopardi

Apr 8th 2012, 17:38

Dear Pierre ,

in your film conclusion you have stated : " some people are still afraid to speak about Mintoff even today " .
Does this also apply to you ? Why did you wait for Mintoff to be so old to launch this film ? Why did you not expand on the fact that the integration was boycotted by the Nationalist party and the Church because Divorce will come to Malta and the Queen will be our "Madonna " ? Why did not not mention that wherever Mintoff flew , a Maltese " patriotic " delegation will fly a week before to undermine his visit ? How many industries were established in Malta other than what Mintoff brought over ?
And also , why did you not elaborate more on the 1998 issues that were preceded by a private airplane being sent over from a nearby country ? Were they contenders for the Cottonera project or another project ?

I believe Dr Psaila Savona and Mr Lino Spiteri gave balanced commentaries and even the Priest gave valid comments .

Is the film critising Mr Mintoff or the Labour Party ?

C Azzopardi

Richard Caruana

Apr 9th 2012, 07:33

Thank God that the PN boycotted Integration!

We'd all be British citizens right now, suffering the same plights with no self determination at all.

Is that what the MLP still believe in? Integration? Selling our souls and hearts to the British?

This gives me the shivers more than reading the cobwebbed arguments of MintoffYana

Mr charles azzopardi

Apr 9th 2012, 18:32

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_United_Kingdom_integration_referendum,_1956

Integration was even better than today's EU .. England was strong and Malta would retain its parliament .. it was just political opposition . Now we are in EU .. with the economical status that everybody knows , with divorce and with a constitution that refrains from mentioning the word " God " ..

As the Canon has said in the film : " Mintoff had vanguard ideas in those times " and was opposed with an obsession close to racism and apartheid ! I believe that this oppression lead to what happened later on .

My opinion , please respect it .

C . Azzopardi

Astrid Vella

Apr 8th 2012, 17:31

Ms. Mintoff Bland, if you need more facts on the systematic breach of human rights under your father's government I would be very happy to furnish you with first-hand details of how my father and his colleagues at the Public Works Department were systematically bullied and threatened, a victimisation that was so intense, vicious and unrelenting that it lead to my father's untimely death, while his colleagues suffered strokes and heart attacks.

I can also relate to you how we University students were brutally set upon and attacked by your father's supporters, two suffering cranial injuries that required hospitalisation in the UK and others lesser injuries. All this while you were comfortably studying and fighting for human rights everywhere but on your father's patch.

Just ask the National and Tagliaferro bank shareholders how he bullied them mercilessly, another act that lead directly to deaths through the worry of suddenly finding oneself penniless.

Even the most trivial of incidents like a telephone operator answering a call from your father in the wrong tone had led to her being called to Castille in order to make abject and grovelling apologies to him. I'm sorry to have to make the scales fall from your eyes, but that is the man he was.

I am no Nationalist apologist, I am well-known to be politically unaffiliated, and I have no problem in stating that your father enacted many good measures, especially in the social field, but please don't come claiming he was not a bully - just reading the comments here should give you plenty of facts for your research. Should you wish to speak to me and other survivors of that violent era, you are welcome to contact the Times, they know where to find me. However please don't insult the memory of our parents' and our suffering by claiming that your father was not a bully.

Joseph Scicluna

Apr 8th 2012, 17:22

One Mintoff is more than enough!

Joseph Goerge Borg

Apr 8th 2012, 16:19

she was told that as child she used to run along the bastion, barefooted; also she used to see little girls begging. So whoever happened to be around would have thought: Poor girls they are so that their parents have no money for the basic needs of these kids or maybe one would have said that their parents are so mean to buy basic needs for their kids.

Angelo Vassallo

Apr 8th 2012, 16:15

@ J. Mifsud

You have not the slight idea of what you are talking about. Let me remind you that Gonzi is in power with a relative MAJORITY which is much different from a minority of votes, like when mintoff governed Malta between 1981 and 1987, that was governing with a minority of votes dear j. mifsud. Look who is talking about clingng to power. Mintoff clinged to power for five years and five months against the WILL OF THE MAJORITY.

Nies bhalek jiskantawni kif jippruvaw jghawgu l-istorja u l-hmieg taghhom ituh lill-haddiehor u jahsbu li ser jirnexxilhom.

Wally Vella-Zarb

Apr 8th 2012, 19:12

"Let me remind you that Gonzi is in power with a relative MAJORITY "

The operative word there is RELATIVE. The MAJORITY of those who voted did NOT vote for GonziPN and therefore, yes, technically the government with which we have been saddled IS "against the WILL OF THE MAJORITY".

CONSTITUTIONALLY it has a right to be there; but then, so had the Labour government after the 1981 elections. As you said, "Nies bhalek jiskantawni kif jippruvaw jghawgu l-istorja u l-hmieg taghhom ituh lill-haddiehor u jahsbu li ser jirnexxilhom."

G Schembri

Apr 8th 2012, 19:14

It is you who uses two weights and two measures. I never said Mintoff was right I only said that it the PN was really democratic Lawrence Gonzi would have called an election as early as possible especially after he lost the majority in Parliament. And say what you want but the extra seat in Parliament should have been given to AD and not to the PN.
It is you who do not have the slightest idea what I am talking about. For me democracy is when Parliament represents the will of the people for you Democracy is when the PN is in government even with a minority of votes.
I am not trying to distort history I am only stating a fact, Lawrence Gonzi does not have the majority of voters behind him and since January he does not have the majority of MPs.
With regards to your last sentence-since you don't know me personally you cannot comment on my personal self.

Joseph Calleja

Apr 8th 2012, 16:02

Mintoff was very smart and a very educated person. Ignorance is bliss and Dom Mintoff was very aware of that and he took full advantage of that fact. He used that ignorance to get his army of goons and thugs to make sure that those that did not agree with him or his policies were punished and kept in line. Besides he picked a personal fight with then, Arch Bishop Michael Gonzi and separated the country to the point where even families were feuding between themselves. He had people like Lorry Sant and a couple of other goon Ministers carrying the dirty work for him. Mintoff had a goal and he was going to get his way even if his way resulted in physical violence. His goons managed to invade the private premises of Dr Fenech Adami and terrorize his family, and the goons even managed to set fire and destroy the Times of Malta building. A friend of mine that worked there at the time, is suffering the trauma of that day. Mintoff might have been a saviour for some but he also managed to ruin the life of many others. Mintoff led by fear tactics and he used his arrogance and his thugs to accomplish all that. So again, it depends on what side of the fence you are looking from. One thing for sure, he would never be able to get away with any of that physical force and hatred in this day and age. I don't think any government of today will be able to take away people's properties so they can accommodate their constituents. To this day, property owners still cannot get back those same properties that were confiscated (requisitioned), in my case 1974. And what is this government doing about it? NOTHING. " THE GOVERNMENT TAKETH AWAY AND THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD GIVETH BACK." This government could have done all that, but did not.

m. borg (slm)

Apr 8th 2012, 15:58

Can't the woman have an opinion?

It is amazing how many experts in democracy seem to want to belittle other people's opinion.

Personnally I have my reservations about what Mintoff did in 1989 when I suddenly realised that there are no gods in politics, but surely I would not forbid Yana to have an opinion or exppress her feelings about the event after all she is Mintoff's daughter and blood is ticker than water. I think the interviewer was out of line on that matter.

I look at Yana not as Mintoff's daughter but what she can really achieve and contribute to the maltese people and it looks that her past, especially in the education field has a sound basis.

Like I said the fact that she is Mintoff's daughter does not have any bearing on my opinion of her but I look at what she is and what she stands for. I would gladly vote for her if she were to contest my district despite that I do not approve what her father did back in 1998.

Sydney Graffolo

Apr 8th 2012, 15:46

"our family was being persecuted" ???

What solar galaxy this woman lives on ? Maybe she should choose to go back where she came from because after all, there are better opportunities out there, how about that ?
How about she goes off to another solar system ... far far away ? a place of no return ? Just a suggestion !

Lawrence Fenech

Apr 8th 2012, 15:18

Some people don't seem to notice that they are walking backwards, progresive people always look forward.

Angelo Vassallo

Apr 8th 2012, 14:55

@ Jimmy Magro

Ms Mintoff felt sad when AS called Mintoff a traitor. Obviously she did not feel sad when the Labour Government was brought down by his vote, and yet the pl has accepted her in the party. Affari taghhom.

You. as Secretary General of the pl worked so hard to be elected and you were brought down in 22 months. And all this thanks heaven becuase if things went AS 's way, things would have been very different today, much much worse than the situation we are in now., and this situation came by only thanks to GONZIPN and surely not thanks to jm and the pl.

Karen Cauchi

Apr 8th 2012, 14:03

Li kien ghal missier Yana Mintoff, din il-gazzetta ma tezistix. Fill-15 ta' Ottubru 1979 il-marmalja laburista harqu l-bini tat-Times.

Illum, 32 sena wara it-tifla ta Dom Mintoff qed tipprova tghallimna dwar id-drittijiet fundemantali tal-bniedem. X'ironija !

Dom Mintoff haraq lit-Times biex jaghlqilha halqa ghax ma kienx jemm fil-liberta tal-espressjoni, Yana Mintoff trid ittella l-qorti lil Pierre Ellul ghax l-anqas hi ma temmen fil-liberta tal-espressjoni.

Illum il-Partit Laburista qed jilqa fi hdanu nies bhal Yana Mintoff, Alex Sciberras Trigona, Joe Grima, Karmenu Vella, joe Debono Grech, Leo Brincat u ohrajn, li jfakkruna fl-aghar zmien li minnu ghadda pajiizna.

Meta l-PN ifakkruna f'dan iz-zmien tal-Partit Laburista johrogu jghidu li l-PN imwahhal fil-passat. Issa ghandna lil Partit Laburista li qed jigglorifika l-passat.

Nahseb li l-poplu li garrab u ghadda minn dak iz-zmien mhu ha jhalli lil hadd jaghti l-kulur lil din il-pagna sewda fl-istorja ta kull wiehed u wahda minnha, Nazzjonalist jew Laburist, li ghix f'pajjiz fejn il-liberta tal-espressjoni ma kienetx tezisti, tirrenja l-bizgha, l-korruzzjoni kienet ir-regola tal-gurnata, id-drittiet fundemantali inezistenti u l-medjokrita kienet dak li konnha nippretendu. Hadd mhu se jhalli lil Yana Mintoff u l-Partit Laburista igib fix-xejn dak li ghaddejna minnhu.

Joe Vella

Apr 8th 2012, 13:53

@ A. F. Busuttil

"Who can lecture about democracy?

Did the constitutional court ever found Mintoff of breach of human rights? they found Eddie more than twice."

Are you serious, or joking in posing the above question? How could the Constitutional Court find MIntoff in breach of Human rights, when Mintoff had suspended the very same Constitutional Court? But the biggest joke of all is for you to suggest that MIntoff knew what Human rights were for he had trampled on every right that existed under the sun.

m. borg (slm)

Apr 8th 2012, 15:59

Had plenty of time to do so after 1987, stop being silly.

Angelo Vassallo

Apr 8th 2012, 13:35

@ pat muscat

Mortal sin was enforced by the Church headed by the same person who earlier was one of the founder members of the mlp back in 1921, Archbishop Michael Gonzi. Mons. Gonzi could clearly see the threat of Communism coming over our islands. And afyer a few years, Mons. Michael Gonzi was proved right.

L-akbar glieda bejn il-hbieb jghid il-Malti. Kif kienet l-akbar glieda bejn Duminku Mintoff u Pawlu Boffa, kif kienet l-akbar glieda bejn Duminku Mintoff u Michael Gonzi, kif kienet l-akbar glieda bejn Duminku MIntoff u Alfred Sant. Kif kienet l-akbar glieda haexa bejn il-kontestanti ghall-"leader" fis-sena 2008 fejn twaddab hafna tajn. Il-mlp dejjem kien mifni b’hafna glied intern bejn il-mexxejja tal-partit li dejjem wassal biex fl-ahhar bata l-poplu Malti kollu.

J. Mifsud

Apr 8th 2012, 15:32

I am still waithing for Lawrence Gonzi to appologize for the harships caused by his uncle.

m. borg (slm)

Apr 8th 2012, 16:00

...... u l-glieda bejn gonzi u franco,gonzi u JPO, gonzi u mugliette, gonzi u dalli, gonzi u EFA.

Paul Borg

Apr 8th 2012, 13:15

I think Joseph Muscat is doing a big mistake bringing on the Mintoffians on board. Unfortunately this will only rekindle the pains that we had to go through. I personally admire JM for apologising for what happened under the previous labour governments. Miss Yana it will be great if you start talking to the people who suffered in the 80;s- so that you can gt the facts clear.

m. borg (slm)

Apr 8th 2012, 16:01

I agree, how about you opening an office for such meetings.

Mr Edward Caruana Galizia

Apr 8th 2012, 19:13

When on Earth did JM apologize? He keeps on calling those days the glory days of Malta.

Peter Agius

Apr 8th 2012, 12:40

Mintoff/Yana, go back to where to came from .....remember....Persona non grata.

A. Attard

Apr 8th 2012, 14:09

She is maltese so she is right where she needs to be, where she was born...have some respect man!

Mario J Spiteri

Apr 8th 2012, 15:39

As a maltese citizen she is persona grata!!!

Kieku ma kienx misierha - bit-tajjeb u l-hazin kollu kieku l-mizerja kienet tirrenja kif dejjem rieduna ta kontrih.

Pls note, that when the PN leader contest himself he said that he want to know & listen for the price high of gas & other utilities.
Without any problem he last Thursday when was announced a high rise in gas price he went to R|ome to enjoy a familiar holiday - well & good but to continue & 4 week holiday from parliament is incredible.

Dr. Gonzi is persona non grata as the country leader but not as a maltese citizen. That makes the difference.

Angelo Vassallo

Apr 8th 2012, 12:35

@ michael catania

“Are they that short of memory that they can’t go further back - say to the fifties and sixties”.

History is history and no one can deny it. In the fifties Mintoff quarrelled with the British government and with Boffa and than resigned from government in 1958. Mintoff gave governance of Malta back to the British. In the sixties Mintoff quarrelled with the Maltese Catholic Church, mainly with the same person, Archbishop Michael Gonzi, who in earlier times was one of the founders of the mlp and was eelected as a Labour Senator in the Malta Legislative Assembly in 1921.

In 1981 he defied and challenged the Maltese population who did not want him to govern but still he did govern Malta with the support of the minority of the Maltese population. In those years hell broke loose, and who like me, lived those days, and did not support his government, knows exactly the extent of the harm done.

Michael Catania what can you say against past and present Nationalist Leaders? What can you say against Fortunato Mizzi, Ugo Mifsud, Enrico Mizzi, Giorgio Borg Olivier, Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi? These gentlemen always had a clear vision of Malta and the Maltese people, Maltese for the Maltese.

Mario J Spiteri

Apr 8th 2012, 15:46

Sorry Mr. Angel Vella, the 1981 story every one knows that the provocation from the then PN leader that he & his deputies did not entered the parliament for 2 years! They where out to put the clear vision for Malta as the hell broke loose.

That's it & no Mintoff sent them to do that.

Matthew Micallef

Apr 8th 2012, 16:32

Really?? Comparing Gonzi to Neriku Mizzi?? The further you get from the founding fathers the further you get from their vision. How about you take America's vision of small government and protecting civil liberties and see where it lies now. Whatever vision dear Lawrence has for us, it sure as hell doesn't fallow the vision that our founders had. Same with Eddie, did a lot of good for our country until corruption started spewing out. Facts are facts, and government will always be corrupt so long as their is no threat to their seat. Strip away the power to remain in governance after a corruption scandal and you get the farce of a government we have nowadays, where ministers can pay their way out of ANY scandal. It just isn't fair on the people to call politicians gentlemen, they are businessmen, and like any businessman that found his company all well and built when he entered it, he has no idea of the sacrifices that had been made to build the thing from the ground up, and hence has no level of appreciation that can measure up to his predecessors. However, ultimately it all depends on how great of a man the person governing is, but unfortunately, that is a variable that is impossible to establish prior to governance.

Mr Ernest Vella

Apr 8th 2012, 12:30

about abortion...what's the position?

m. borg (slm)

Apr 8th 2012, 16:04

What a silly question, it is not her opinion that counts but that of the party, which is against.

If Yana had any objections with that she would not have accepted to run for PL.

Emma Xerri

Apr 9th 2012, 06:54

What Ms. Mintoff can probably correctly deduce is that in Malta this issue is always one-sided and has never been properly discussed or debated. In Malta the woman is a non-entity in the abortion issue and the foetus is always paramount and the woman is always incidental and secondary. There has never been an objective attempt made at open and unbiased discussion. What we have instead are daily and systematic pronouncements and opinion pieces in newspapers and other media that frame the issue from one and only one perspective and from which naturally flow the pre-conceived and pre-digested conclusions that nobody dares to question.

Joseph Camilleri

Apr 8th 2012, 12:29

...not to mention that the SAME people who where side by side with DUMINKU are still in Parlament today!!! And these people approved the atorcities Labour did in those days... and in 2012 or 2013 they can be re-elected.... SHIVERS !!!

Who mentions the 50's and 60's really has no idea! First of all we where under the brits, and secondly, the PN and Labour where both working hand in hand... it was only when Mintoff took over or better yet, hi jacked the Labour party and turned it into a communist dictatorship party!!

Malta was progressing before 1971... as a stupid thing to mention, we also had traffic lights, but these where removed by Mintoff (ghax jahlu id dawl) !!!! Our society was a polite society and a caring society, irrelevant what political colour you are.

It was only Prime Minister Dom. Mintoff who sowed the seeds of HATE between Labour and PN supporters! He divided the country, he is the SHAME of Malta, who turned our country into a haven for terrorists bringing hi-jakced planes on our Maltese soil for re-fueling before making their journey to Libya!!

Yana... YOU can talk about democracy becuase while you where having it good in a civilized modern country we had to go through the wage freeze, bulk buying, One TV station hi jacked by Labour, doctors who came over from Pakistan making operations filling their patients with cotton... Malta was a night-mare!!!

Housing? Well... George Borg Olivier had already built many brand new housing estates before the 1971 election, however he didn't give them out... He waited for the election, and because Labour had won, Mintoff gave out these houses for nothing to his friends.

The regional road tunnel? Well... That was part of modernizing our country... and well, because this was fully operational before the 1971 election, but not ceremonianly opened, it was opened by Labour.

Yana... can you leave our country alone please and leave our media alone too? Thanks. Do us a favour, and dissappear, as the Daughter of Malta's dictator, you should be the last person to talk!

m. borg (slm)

Apr 8th 2012, 16:05

Who sowed the seeds to kill Karen Grech?

John Schembri

Apr 8th 2012, 12:22

"I would need more facts on that.” that shows that she either was not in Malta or she was riding piggy-back on her father’s position.

Just in case Yana was looking the other way here are some FACTS :

The burning of the TIMES building.

The attack and ransacking of Eddie Fenech Adami’s family and house.

Road blocks all over Malta.

Students in Catholic Church schools deprived of services and rights which other students had.

Blatant requisition of private property to be handed over to Labour supporters and clubs.

Josef Borg

Apr 8th 2012, 15:03

Plots u djar b'xejn.

Penzjonijiet ghal kulhadd.

Children' allowance.

Edukazzjoni b'xejn.

Sahha b'xejn.

Sigurta socjali l-ghira tal-barranin.

Vot ghan-nisa.

Etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.

Victor Laiviera

Apr 8th 2012, 12:01

"Meanwhile, in Malta, human rights were being breached, arguably by your father’s government."

It would be pertinent to point out that, as far as I know, Eddie Fenech Adami was the only PM in Maltese history who was found guilty, in a court of law, of political discrimination and breach of human rights - twice.

m. borg (slm)

Apr 8th 2012, 16:05

Yes but the nazzjonalisti prefer to forget that.

Peter Agius

Apr 8th 2012, 18:18

Int veru lanqas zejt m'ghandek f'wiccek.

Angelo Vassallo

Apr 8th 2012, 11:56

@ A.F. Busuttil

Who can lecture about democracy? Definately NOT MINTOFF/YANA.

Mintoff stayed in power with a MINORITY OF VOTES for FIVE YEARS AND FIVE MONTHS, the longest legislature ever. Dak kien imwahhal mas-SIGGU tal-POTER.

pat muscat

Apr 8th 2012, 12:53

Your 'democratic PN' stayed in power for 3 legislatures- 1928 1930, 1962 -1966, and 1966-1971; it ruled over a 13 year period when the elections lacked the basic tenants of freedom, transparency and democracy because of the mortal sin, instigated by the PN first against Strickland and the great leader Paul Boffa, and then again in 1962-1966, 1966-1971against Mintoff and Labour families.

J. Mifsud

Apr 8th 2012, 15:19

Let me remind you that Gonzi is in power with a minority of votes, he totally ignored 3800 AD votes. Now he doesn't even have the majority in Parliament an is still clinging to power.

michael catania

Apr 8th 2012, 11:50

How dare these conservative minions keep harping about the seventies and eighties. Are they that short of memory that they can,t go further back-say to the fifties and sixties. Why harp about police brutality when those same perpitrators were PROMOTED NO SOONER A Conservative party was in power in 1987. I will give these conservatives a history lesson and take them further back when they pussy footed with the Italian fascists and a lot of them were internned because they were potential tratiors. Before any conservatives continue to throw imaginary muck at the Labour Leadership it pays to have a good look at your leadership (past and present ).

Angelo Vassallo

Apr 8th 2012, 11:47

@ Mark Borg

"the pn still fear his very name over 30 years his resignation as PM of Malta......." IDDAHHAQX U TGHIDX CUCATI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kieku bzajna minnu m'ghamilnix dak li ghamilna bejn il-'81 u s-'87 biex f'Malta nregghu lura d-Demokrazija u l-Paci f'pajjizna li bil-gvern tieghu kien kwazi qered ghall-kollox u gabna nghixu f'dittatura.

Henry Mifsud

Apr 8th 2012, 13:00

U x'ghamiltu ezatt?
Zrajtu mibeda li ghada f'certa qlub (bhal dik tieghek) sal- lum.

Jilaghbu kemm jilaghbu "musical chairs" bejn il-prim ministru u l-president (bhal per ezempju meta EFA biddel postu ma' Gonzi), dawn jafu ben car li qatt mhu ser jirnexxielhom jilhqu l-istatura politika li lahaq il-Perit Mintoff. U dan fi zmien fejn il-kommunikazzjoni kienet ghada primittiva. Immagina x'kien jaghmel illum!

Iva jidher car li nies bhalek ghadkom imwerwwa anke meta biss tisimghu ismu.

Mario J Spiteri

Apr 8th 2012, 15:56

Tghid mhux ser tigu intom u nies bhalkhom mimlijin mibgheda lejn min hu b'opinjoni ohra minn taghkhom!

Xi nghidu dwar dak id-dizordni kollu li kontu ghamiltu fit-80 ijiet harbattu pajjiz biex flok dhaltu fil-parlament hrigtu fuq bojkott ta sentejn imissdkom tisthu ghax setghet giet irrangata l-istorja mhux inholqot konfuzjoni bikhom!!!!!!!!

Kollox irrangajtu intom - cioe bil-paroli ghax faqar iboss ergajtu hloqtu ghax hekk thobbu intom nies jitkarrbu.

mark borg

Apr 8th 2012, 20:41

igdilna naqra ezatt x'ghamiltu Anglu ...
u nerga nghidlek MINTOFF WERWIRKHOM SA ILLUM U GABKHOM TITKELMU WAHEDKHOM .

ISSA NISTNNEW NARAW NAQRA X KIEN IR ROLE TIEGHEK FDAK IZ ZMIEN MOQZIES TA TIXWIX NAZZJONLIST ....

Ms.D. Galea

Apr 8th 2012, 11:40

An example of how paranoid delusions of grandeur are inherited traits .

Ms Samantha Debono

Apr 8th 2012, 15:59

It's either paranoid delusions, or delusions of grandeur Ms. Galea..............

Mario Scicluna

Apr 8th 2012, 16:45

bil-hdura li ghandkhom, qisha pillola morra li ma tistaw QATT tnizzluwha fi grizmejkhom. Iva, KIEN, GHADU U JIBQA l-aktar politikant u gentlom li habb lil Malta. Tghidu x'tghidu, u tiggdbu kemm tifilfu u tghamlu terinati, xorta ser jibqa l-uniku simbolu ta' Malta HIELSA(mhux indipendenza farsa). Wish you could name me who's your Grand VIzier for you PN lackey apologists, your GonziPN I presume???? Keep going to the kitchens as your annointed one had said, whilst at it, hand over the Eu500 you stole each week!

J Mizzi

Apr 8th 2012, 11:23

Yana - my father was beaten when he tied himself in front of castille. Go look it up in the law court archives.

Pffff need more facts my foot!

m. borg (slm)

Apr 8th 2012, 16:15

No it is you who is accusing Labour/Mintoff so its your duty to supply the evidence.

How stupid can I get.

Lawrence Fenech

Apr 8th 2012, 11:22

One must always look for the best in people and improve on that, Mintoff had a lot of good best it is unwise not to notice that.

Angelo Vassallo

Apr 8th 2012, 11:08

mintoffyana gives me the shivers and just brings back to me the vivid memories of sixteen years of socialist rule (1971 - 1987) which did not tolerate anyone who did not support that government. They even wanted to create a socialist generation. It brings back to me the vivid memories of police joining thugs violently disrupting several Nationalist meetings and demonstrations on Independence Day and shower us with drainage water during these manifestations. Just to mention ONLY one thing that the Maltese had to go through in those horrible days.

Antoine Vella

Apr 8th 2012, 11:04

It is clear that the PL is re-introducing Mintoffianism.

All those who find this undesirable and unacceptable have to send an electoral message to Joseph Muscat - he must not be allowed to turn the clock back.

Any grievance one might have regarding the present government pales into insignificance when compared to the misery of the Mintoffian regime.

Mintoff once again? NO, thanks.

Richard Caruana

Apr 8th 2012, 12:05

100 percent agreed

J. Mifsud

Apr 8th 2012, 15:14

Antoine Vella you seem to be one of the few who are comfortable under the present regime - A regime which is making a few very rich at the expense of the majority of people. A regime which is taking Malta back to the situation of the 60s, where we had the workers without any rights while the governing class was very rich. An example of this situation is Gonzi giving himself and his cronies a salary rise of 500 euro weekly while the workers were given less than 2 euro.
At least they had the decency to remove the name of Christ from their political name - they are no longer saying they are DemoKristjani.

GEORGE CUTAJAR

Apr 8th 2012, 10:57

A throwback to the bad old days. Actually propping up this new progressive candidate JM did a very good job in reminding us all of what we went through under her father - labour corps, incessant violence, disruption of PN Meeting with the use of brute force by the Mintoffian Law and Order Brigade, the burning of The Times, The Law Courts, ransacking of the PN's leader's house and the beating of his wife, suspension of the constitutional court, utter disregard for human rights, prohibition of use of the word 'Malta' and Nazzjon, rampant corruption, disastrous state of education and the list goes on.

Labour - NO THANKS. If changing means bringing back the past than we are in deep trouble.

G Mangion

Apr 8th 2012, 10:46

Yana : another No Regret ,,,

The truth is she never gave a darn for Maltese Prisoners at those times Malta Civil Prisons was Rated the 2nd

Prison without Human Rights in Europe after Turkey ! What held her not to help Her own People ?

at that time prisoners in Malta did not make Hunger strikes, THEY BEGGED FOR FOOD !

G, Mangion.

joseph saliba

Apr 8th 2012, 10:40

Talking about the good old days of the dinosaurs when it suits us. Rewriting history according to .... No nationalist ever called him 'traitor'. Progressive my foot.

Charles Vella

Apr 8th 2012, 10:29

Meanwhile, in Malta, human rights were being breached, arguably by your father’s government. Did you feel unable to react in the way you did in the UK? Or do you feel that human rights were not being breached at all?

I would need more facts on that.

HOW DARE YOU YANA!!! Schools where closed in Malta because of your father, my father was beaten up as he was walking towards the PN bar in Zejtun which was vandalised and burnt respectively more then 10 times by Labour supporters, and the police/government did nothing becuase they APPROVED of what was happening!!

Why is the Times of Malta opening burises which where closed (but not forgotten) !!! WHY?!

Yana let's not forget that this news paper was BURNT by your father, YES, your father! He sent the thugs to burn down the Times in Valletta to steal it and turn it into a labour propoganda machine! Just like he did with Xandir Malta which was totally surrounded by SOLDIERS!!

YANA HOW DARE YOU! You have NO idea of the hurt, the pain we went through during your fathers REGIME!!!!!

LEAVE US AND GO BACK TO TEXAS OR THE UK!!! WE DON'T WANT YOU IN MALTA!!! SHAME ON YOU! SHAME SHAME HSAME!!!!

J. Mifsud

Apr 8th 2012, 15:08

Cha\rles Vella you are exagerating. If your father was beaten up by Labour thugs, others were beaten by PN thugs. My friend was terrorised in closing her shop on the 29th of June when EFA decided that all Malta had to go to Mellieha Bay, I was boycotted because I went to work, and my colleagues took the day off to go swimming the Eddie. Yes the 80s were they years of terror PN supporters were beaten by PL thugs, others who were not PN supporters were boycotted and beaten.
Let us not forget the murder of Karen Grech and the bombs on the doorstep of people who held important positions with the government, and behind the Sliema police station.
AS for Xandir Malta we have the same position now with PBS.

Jimmy Magro

Apr 8th 2012, 10:22

Ms Mintoff felt sad when AS called Mintoff a traitor. Did she feel sad when the Labout Government was brought down by his vote?

We worked so hard to be elected and were brought down in 22 months. Things would have been very different today of that vote did not go the way it did.

Ivan Grech Mintoff

Apr 8th 2012, 16:01

@Jimmy Magro.

I am ASTOUNDED (the again, come to think of it, not!) by such a comment from someone who was so close to the action at the time...)

- You know VERY well that there was only ONE person who could call for an election (the process which brought the Govt down at the time. And that was none other than AS. It was therefore AS only who put the Labour party back in opposition totally unnecessarily...

- You also know very well what people like Phil Noble, yourself and others where predicting via 'surveys' in 98.
(Even the most basic logical analysis showed that what your predictions where showing were WRONG! What LP echelons were trying to fool themselves with had NEVER been achieved when Labour was at its strongest, let alone in the state Labour was in after the introduction of the disastrous CET, the proposed, 'door' tax etc. in 96..)

- You also know VERY well the REAL reasons why AS kept insisting that he had no alternative but to call an election. You KNOW that he obstinately went against all advice and logic. Perhaps once and for all you should disclose the REAL reasons why that election was called rather than the excuse used and then we could let the people decide who the real traitors are/were and who are not...

Thankfully, it seems that that disastrous chapter that kept Labour on the back benches for so long, seems to be almost over. Another few steps and I'm sure that the real Labourites will be uttering a HUGE sigh of relief as the party is ably led "Back to Basics" and what it does best...

Jimmy Magro

Apr 8th 2012, 20:48

@ Ivan
I asked the question because I was so close as you yourself stated. I know what it means to win an election and the long hours that went through.
Whatever the sitation was at that time, a vote againt Labour was unwarranted especially from the Party ex-Leader.
You can take a lesson from the cuurent issue Franco Debono vs Lawrence Gonzi.
As for the real reason it is very clear: we did NOT want to serve as puppets as we have our honour to defend.

Ivan Grech Mintoff

Apr 9th 2012, 11:08

@ Jimmy Magro,

>Whatever the sitation was at that time, a vote againt Labour was unwarranted especially from the Party ex-Leader.

Let us just disagree (very much) on this point.

You and I know that there were many, many policies being branded about at the time that many felt to be totally against the very principles of the Party. (Shall we discuss CET, Fort St. Angelo and many other issues of the time?).You also know that there were many others who also wanted to vote against what AS was up to at that time and it was DM who stopped them doing so in parliament...

>You can take a lesson from the cuurent issue Franco Debono vs Lawrence Gonzi.

Absolutely.

Personally I think that FD is 100% correct.
I believe that he is the BEST asset that PN has right now and had he had the balls to carry out threat (based on SOLID principles) then the PN would already have started the much needed internal reform.

It would probably be a power to be reckoned with easily within 5 years rather than the probable 10-15 years its going to need to sort itself out!

I loved how he spoke in parliament and again I say what he said was correct.

Finally, I believe that PN are making exactly the same mistake that Labour did when Wenzu Mintoff/Toni Abela/etc spoke up in the 80's and when DM (and others) spoke out in the 90's.

I believe that today the LP (majoirity) admit that had LP listened to Wenzu & Toni Abela and Dom Mintoff, then Labour would have returned to power much earlier.

Instead with AS at the helm... well the rest is history, shall we say.

>As for the real reason it is very clear: we did NOT want to serve as puppets as we have our honour to defend.

You know that I have always spoken quite bluntly to you and without being double faced. I really think that this is not the place to discuss the type of honour you refer to..! Enough said.

Ironically, when at the time you (the leadership) had ALL the opportunity to discuss things democratically and reach the BEST solution, it chose to prevent one side of the coin from even talking (radio, newspapers etc). and thereby denying the REAL DECISION MAKERS (the DELEGATES) the right to hear both sides and then decide.

Honour? Please..

The ONLY good thing that is coming out of all this is that the party now has an opportunity to look back unemotionally and rid itself of people and policies that only brought harm to the Party.

I am sure that its time to go back to basics and get things right once more.

On a final note, I notice that you did not answer certain questions so let me put them in a more direct maner to you:

1) who at the time (and now) is the only person with the Constitutional right to call (and he did!) a general election unnecessarily?

2) Was the truly the only alternative that AS had? (do look at Franko Debono/GonziPN situation too. And
you are of course aware that the situation was not that bad.)

You were after all directly involved in certain negotiations which after they were agreed upon, one side decided to disregard and take the upper hand. You do remember for instance the extraordinary general meeting and the negotiations the day before(Saturday) that you were involved in, right?

3) Were there other burning issues at the time (St. Angelo, the next general budget etc) that were causing huge internal rifts. I for one hope the truth will come out sooner rather than later....

4) What were the polls at the time showing AS at the time? The one that Phil Noble, yourself etc were coming up with. How many seats (majority) were that predicting (this time, obviously without DM's votes)? Let's make it easier: a 1,3 or 5 seat majority?

And what was the actual result or taking that senseless and needless decision?

Yes to win an election takes MASSIVE effort by all. And then to go and throw it all away is so, so so reckless. No wonder of course conspiracy theorists have a field day when such things happen.

No wander therefore that the PN used to gloat that AS was their best asset!

Jimmy Magro

Apr 9th 2012, 20:21

@ Ivan Grech Mintoff

1. I understand that you have a conflict of interest in the debate.

2. What you wrote would make a weak case as it is based on perception rather than facts.

3. Every Government or political party has some form of conflict between the diverse factions of the organisation, as this is evident even today.

4. Whatever the cause of this dissent, the cases that a member of parlaiment has brought down his own government are very rare. Even under Mintoff there were members who expressed dissent in Parlaiment but never came to the point to vote against their own party.

5. I thank you for the interest in the matter and I will not take make another reply on this issue.

Ivan Grech Mintoff

Apr 10th 2012, 11:10

@Jimmy Magro

Your lack of answers to direct questions speak much louder than the list of suggestions that you make, yet you call my argument weak.

Fair enough. I rest my case too.

Charles Vella

Apr 8th 2012, 10:22

Just to let you know Yana, the 'interdett' has nothing to do with the PN... It was confirmed by the Vatican, and naturally, after seeing your fathers movie, which shows only 20% of what your father was and what he did, as MUCH, or TOO much has been left out, the shivers of thinking that YOU will be in parlament just and simply scares me.

We don't want an other Mintoff! We had enough bullying by your father during his days of terror. May we NEVER live those days again. Amen.

mark borg

Apr 8th 2012, 10:15

Keep it up Yana and expect the usual manipulation and cheap propaganda from the pn because your father beat them hands down and emerged victorious, were thanks to him Malta became a nation for the Maltese and enjoys a comprehensive welfare state till this date....although derailed by any which way from the pn and church in opposition
He is still adored by thousands and thousands, generations after generations ...till this date.....
the pn still fear his very name over 30 years his resignation as PM of Malta........
Dom Mintoff What a legend,what a genius and what a cult !

J Mizzi

Apr 8th 2012, 11:21

Mr Borg,

Before I answer to your comment I am a floater.

Now Mintoff literally beat the pn ... using brute force.
Why is everything so expensive for the new generations? - Because forty years ago Mintoff started giving off houses for cheap in the so called social housing!

Now today, as a very above average earner I still cannot pay my house in ten years because I need to take a loan. Mind you I save over 50% of my monthly salary!

That's what Mintoff brought.

GEORGE CUTAJAR

Apr 8th 2012, 11:39

Yes MArk Borg we still fear the name of Mintoff and anything or anyone who has any connection to him for the simple reason that we were on the receiving end of Mintoffian benevolence - for that read violence.

And yes you are very right Mintoff did 'beat' the PN - he did so in the true sense of the word using his infamous thugs and 'his' police force.

It was only through the wise leadership of Eddie Fenech Adami, Guido de Marco, Ugo MIfsud Bonnici, Censu Tabone and Louis Galea that the country was saved from a fully fledged dictatorship.

J. Mifsud

Apr 8th 2012, 14:59

J Mizzi - The labour government of the 70s and 80s removed hunger from Malta, it also encouraged the working class to buy their own houses by subcidizing their loans, and giving them a plot of land to build their houses on.
The PN government of the 90s did away with social housing and in the name of democracy and free trade, he let his friends the contractors to raIse the cost of houses, these persons became millionaires overnight and are still giving thousands of euros to the PN. These are the same persons who take ministers on their boats and private planes for a holiday.
You say your income is above avarage - well so is mine out of my salary I pay 30% in Income tax and 10% in social security. So an above avrage salary earner usually takes home about 70% of his salary. I don't have any morgage to pay. I live decently But I save nowhere near 50% of my monthly salary actually I wonder how you do it. This is what EFA brought people who exagerate to make a point.

Joseph Agius

Apr 8th 2012, 10:08

That's exactly what we need...another Mintoff!! ....just gives me the creeps! ......history repeats itself....hope not in my lifetime!

J. Mifsud

Apr 8th 2012, 14:36

Yes Mr Aguis - another Mintoff is exactly what Malta needs. Of course if you are one of the few privalged who are making millions while workers are not even earning the minimum wage, you would be against anoher Mintoff. The rest of the nation needs anoher Mintoff.

Joseph Agius

Apr 8th 2012, 17:18

This is not the same man signing the above.
No, I did not like Mintoff's time in the late 70's and 80's; yet, I would be the last person to deny the fact that without Mintoff's intelligence and social policies today's Malta would still be a very sad place. The dark parts of a picture should not blind us to the white ones.

Paul Giordimaina

Apr 8th 2012, 10:06

She is saying her opinion on a paper her father's supporters burned and tried to shut the paper.Why dids she not return to Malta when her father was PM.so she can see how democratic was her father.

A.F. Busuttil

Apr 8th 2012, 11:03

Who can lecture about democracy?
Did Mintoff ever spent 5 months in Parlament without a vote? not even when he had one seat majority
Did the constitutional court ever found Mintoff of breach of human rights? they found Eddie more than twice.
Did Mintoff increased the wages of this team behind the Nations back, of who was afraid Gonzi to do this?

Maria Debono

Apr 8th 2012, 10:04

Why did Ms Mintoff have to go to a Church school if she didn't want to. there was no closure of Church schools in those days? Most maltese girls sat for a very competitive grammar school exam, and there were always places for those who passed. What was her problem? Failure?

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