I have read the contribution entitled Hitting Political Rock Bottom written by my good friend and former mentor, Austin Bencini (July 20).

It is.. a shame that… even commiseration for public figures has now become a colour-coded affair- Marc Sant

Obviously, Dr Bencini is fully entitled to express his views on the references to the late President Emeritus Guido de Marco – another former mentor of mine and long-standing family friend – that have recently made the rounds in some sections of the media. Dr Bencini is also clearly at liberty to feel upset by “vile” allegations about a local political figure, by actions that “besmirch the image of a nation” and by attempts by “partisan sectors of the media” to smear the memory or the reputation of politicians.

It is, however, a shame that, in this country, even commiseration for public figures has now become a colour-coded affair.

Despite not having followed the political scene for as long as Dr Bencini, I am old enough to not recall any such commiseration from him in various situations.

For instance, when a few years ago partisan sectors of the media reported in the most vile manner that Alfred Sant had been to a meal in – Dingli and got himself into such a severe state of intoxication that he had crashed his car three times on that same night.

This was obviously an outrageous lie and Dr Sant had won the subsequent libel case.

Neither do I recall reading any condemnation from Dr Bencini when a prominent minister, best known for his arrogance along with his recent SmartCity and Arriva successes, stated that Dr Sant was a viable candidate to appear on Altered Statesman, implying that Dr Sant took his decisions when under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Neither do I recall Dr Bencini censuring Edward (or are we back to Eddie now?) Fenech Adami for falsely and maliciously accusing Dr Sant of having prevented his son from entering the University. The accusation was made on national television a few minutes before the “day of silence” kicked into effect, therefore making it impossible for Dr Sant to refute this malevolent allegation. Here too the courts found that Dr Sant had been libelled and he was awarded pecuniary damages.

I also recall no such compassion when Dr Sant was undergoing serious medical treatment in hospital in the first weeks of 2008. Instead, this newspaper chose to loosely speculate on his condition without any form of respect whatsoever being afforded to Dr Sant’s immediate family and, most of all, his elderly mother.

Yes, indeed, it is a great pity that even commiseration for political figures can be very selective in this country, where some get it all and others get none.

It is all well and good to seek to preserve the memory of departed persons as best as possible. However, would it not be better if we first of all respect these persons while they are still among us rather than waiting for their passing away to show them some form of respect?

Dr Sant is a lawyer (specialising in constitutional law) and a councillor in the Lija local council.