Oh get real. Joseph Muscat and Labour have as much in common with the European socialists as chalk and cheese!

[Daphne – Let’s see now, Gerald: how are Labour’s views on divorce, abortion and gay marriage any different to the government’s? Joseph Muscat made it very clear when he spoke about divorce that his opinion is personal and not party policy, which is why he is keen to give a free vote – even though he thinks it’s a civil right.]

The differences begin when we talk about the other policies – what happens inside one’s home and his religious beliefs, and whether and how the state should concern itself with these. That’s where people like Tonio Borg start to stand out.

Your article’s main thrust is right: mixing in concerns about gays in this rent reform is by no means a liberal approach, but plain old socialism. Which is not to say that PN policies are economically liberal either, but I really can’t see how any party could pragmatically follow any economically liberal agenda in a country that squarely rejects it.

Daphne, while I would agree that this survey is indicative of the level of quality certain cities enjoy, one must also analyse the results critically. I’m in no way defending Catholic culture as sometimes I am as exasperated as you are with certain idiosyncrasies but I believe we should put everything into perspective. For instance, if the research is carried out by an American organisation (Protestant?) there is already an important bias in favour of Protestant values and way of life, thus naturally, cities with a Protestant culture will feature at the top of the list as the best cities while others that may not be as strong on those values and qualities may not get a good position.

One last thing – which countries do you think would have come first had the researchers asked Europeans to choose a city in which to live among the following: Zurich, Geneva, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Bern, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Vienna, Brussels, Madrid, Rome, Lisbon.

[Daphne – I think the results would have been exactly the same, and for the very same reasons. In Madrid, Rome and Lisbon only the well-off – and by well-off I mean well-off and not those with an income from employment – can hope to achieve a comfortable standard of living. In the other cities, social services and civic amenities make it possible for virtually everyone to be comfortable. Copenhagen is so comfortable that the birth rate is one of the highest among European cities: the place is literally teeming with pushchairs, infants and toddlers. Weather isn’t everything, you know. If it were, we would all be emigrating to Africa.]

[Daphne – No Ronnie, they were unfortunate. Unlike Maltese, English demands understatement. All of what you spell out would have been read into the use of the word ‘unfortunate’ by anyone who speaks English properly.]