These last few weeks I have been following with a little bit of curiosity the saga of Franco Debono and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. I fully sympathise with Dr Debono for his underserved belittling of his self-esteem by his superior colleague. When superiors consistently become unresponsive and indifferent towards dedicated colleagues, such behaviour becomes very tiring and painful. The person or persons concerned will soon develop a sense of rebellion and start hitting back!

... what happens when superiors turn a deaf ear- Anton F. Attard, Victoria

Remember the story of the senior administrative officers way back in 1993/94? These were a group of high-ranking civil servants who had been more than 15 years in the same grade. They were claiming that they were suffering gross injustice simply because, while they were being asked to perform duties of a higher grade, they were at the same time being denied promotion to the next grade even when there were vacancies to be filled. They also claimed they were being discriminated against.

Two-thirds of that group consisted of Nationalist Party supporters and the other third were Labour sympathisers. The government, then headed by Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami, for some reason or another would not listen. All efforts made by the group to convince the government proved futile. The PN supporters in the group were furious! At one time they threatened: Eddie, we will meet you at the polls!

They were true to their words! In 1996 the Nationalist Party lost the election. In a speech delivered after that general election, Dr Fenech Adami gave a list of reasons for his electoral defeat. Among others, he mentioned “the AO’s question”. He said that it was estimated to have cost the Nationalist Party some 1,000 votes.

This is what happens when superiors turn a deaf ear!