After the British withdrawal the Libyans had the run of the place. They used to say openly that Malta was part of Libya. Gaddafi used to come and go as he pleased accompanied by his female bodyguards who were also seen at the Valletta monti fully armed walking among the people.

The Jerma palace hotel (a Maltese Libyan venture) was emptied of all tourists just to accommodate Gaddafi and his entourage. As soon as his plane landed the Libyans used to take over the airport. A Labour minister was once pushed aside by Gaddafi’s bodyguards at the airport. The incident of the Saipem II where Gaddafi sent warships to stop Malta digging for oil soured things to the point that Mitoff called it an act of the worst enemy. That was the end of Libyan friendship and blood brotherly love. Gaddafi got what he wanted that is the thorn in his bum was removed.

Antagonise Mintoff, strangle the economy through unacceptable MOD cuts and hope he kicks us out, without any cost.

I really believe the British Govt wanted to leave Malta but where afraid of the backlash in UK public opinion if they had left of their own accord and destroyed the Maltese economy.

Therefore, they used Mintoff.

They tried it in Gibraltar but fortunately, they failed because Bossano was well informed of what went on in Malta.

“(Gadaffi) is reportedly ready to advance Mintoff $140 million over a three-year period”.

Did Libya ever replace this loss to the economy? Back in 1972 our economy was roughly $250,000,000 and so this loss of $54m was a 20% hit to our economy EVERY YEAR! If we had just put the 1972 $54m in the bank, it would be worth $350m today. Then add 1973, 1974, 1975… What a vain idiot Mintoff was.

Yes, electrifying so! Isn’t he the one who was accused (and found guilty?) of stealing electricity?

John Boxall is a good man.

His balls were up where he should have had a brain instead.

The US and Britain were not one with Stalin. Russia was part of the coalition in a war. The Americans and the British knew precisely what Stalin was.

It wasn’t about achieving some political end. In fact, the tenous and fragile union broke apart just as the war ended with the fall of Berlin. This was hardly the case with Mintoff and Ghaddafi. Why, even when we started prospecting for oil and the Libyan navy attacked the contractors engaged by government, off the Medina Bank, the relationship hardly cooled.

The truth about Mintoff’s reasoning, the manner of his bullying and the major bluff used to achieve his ends has been well documented in a number of publications. A few I think deserve a mention: Frendo H., “The Origins of Maltese Statehood”- Saliba E., “No Honourable Minister: Memoirs of a senior diplomat”, Frendo M., “Is Malta Burning?” are a few examples. One common theme running through these diverse and disparate tomes is the description given to Mintoffian antics and shenanigans – which really never got him (read, us) anywhere.

By this I do not mean to say that Mintoff was, as many of his most ardent supporters are, some sort of idiot or fool. Au contraire – he was a highly intelligent individual, who for some reason misplaced his genius and put it to bad use – and this to our detriment.

He managed, through his incessant abuse of authority, disregard for the law and disrespect towards his electorate, to engender a nation of spineless, opprtunistic and narrow-minded citizens. He did this with astonishing speed (which I think speaks volumes about human nature) within just one generation.

The previous one had just valiantly been awarded the GC for gallantry shown by a people fighting for a cause which was as much their own as the crisis unfolding in Libya, on our doorstep, is.

As David Eddings once wrote – we have forgotten the face of our fathers.

This little lecture you just gave to Albert should be etched in gold and stuck very visibly and very close to that monument of shame and lies in front of a church near the Birgu marina.

The trouble with the present incumbents is that they are becoming almost a copy of Mintoff where Gaddafi is concerned.

By the way, Freedom, the Union flag fluttered down from Malta’s flagpoles, to be replaced by our flag, on the the 21st September 1964 and was raised again in Birgu in 1972 on a make believe Labour activity pretending to be a national event.

Ah, yes, using dubious means, if necessary. Mifsud Bonnici is on record as having said more or less the same thing.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gGYsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Qc4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4676,4135537&dq=malta+libya&hl=en

Mifsud Bonnici, a socialist, goes a step further. “We will go even to the devil if the devil is prepared to buy our exports,” he said recently when asked about increasing business dealings with the Eastern bloc.