Most Maltese academics lack the ‘gatz’ to do so because the moment they do this MLP will break out in hives. As is inevitable, for they have little to be proud about during this period.

You bet Dr de Marco needed ‘gatz’, not to mention thugs to protect him from Mintoff’s rabble rousers! Fight fire with fire I guess.

Once I was in Syracuse and a hawker said to me “Viva Mintoff” I asked him for a reason and he said simply because he made me a rich man.

John, should we abolish separation and annulments? They effectively create the same problems as divorce. It’s the same package with a different trade name.

As for the wife/husband that do not want divorce, they have no choice in the matter. It takes one half to break a relationship – are you implying that this should be a bilateral decision?

It is very difficult for many people to forget what has happened to them and to the country in the 70s and 80s. Most of the commentators here post their comments using a nom de plume. This is not a coincidence.

They/we have very valid reasons to do so.

It is the fear of retaliation out of criticising Labour that makes people use a nick. We are very real people who prefer to use alter egos than exposing ourselves to retaliation in the event that some nutters bent on revenge come to have their day (just read some other blogs to have a taste).

Besides, many senior people under whose watch in the 70s and 80s a lot of political violence was perpetrated/condoned/tolerated, are still at the helm of the MLP/PL.

How can people of an opposing political hue (or who simply to not agree with/support Labour) be then asked to forget the past when it might be around the corner waiting for a comeback? Is there anyone who can guarantee to anyone that the past will not be revisited?

Plural of referendum, referenda , forum fora and stadium stadia.These plurals give more class to the writer.
That’s what I was thought at school.

Hallik mir-Religjon Daphne!
My point was always that JPO had no right to spearhead a private member’s bill in parliament on a hot issue which was avoided like the plague prior to the last election. It could have been a bill to introduce property tax for that matter.
In Maltese there is an expression ” jurik id-debba u jqabbizlek il-hmara” , that’s what he tried to do.

Regarding”Matters of conscience and religion”: when one takes the same example on the introduction of property tax,are you stating that a voter who owns property should vote in favour of such law or let parliament decide ? If you answer “yes” the property owner would tell you “over my dead body”, Wouldn’t he?

My opinion on divorce is that it solves a problem and creates another two in the process.As a citizen my worries lie on the upbringing of the children, and what happens to the part which never wanted the divorce.
If we are ready to introduce divorce my question would be “Why don’t we do without marriage in the first place and make it a free for all?” We are nearly there after all!
U hallik mil-Muslims u l-Catholics!

Forget? Never. History has a tendency to repeat itself.

I am in Catania right now, and whereas in the 1980s I would have been regarded as a poor beggar from a quasi-eastern bloc country, desperate for basic necessities like toothpaste and pasta, today we were received as experts in our field with serious discussions on areas of cooperation and investment in Malta.

It’s so different from the days when Sicilian hawkers used to wait down at the dock with boxes of goods, for the Gozo Channel ferry to berth and hordes of deprived Maltese to grab at everything they had to offer.

If nothing else (and that is quite a lot) we have today regained our dignity and self respect.

So please, before you come along to tell us to forget it, just read about those times, obtain information from those who went through it all, and then decide whether to forget it or not.

[Daphne – I don’t mind directing traffic to Maltastar. The more people see that rubbish, the better. And despite my best efforts they’re still around 45 places behind this site in the rankings anyway. There’s only so much I can do.]

Referenda are not binding to the Labour Party. They require a subsequent election and much blustering before they realise, with hindsight, what the result actually was.