Perhaps you have let your dislike for Lou Bondi get in the way of your judgement of Alex Sceberras Trigona’s appalling behaviour.

I repeat, Alex Sceberras Trigona replied in the capacity of international secretary of the Labour Party, which aspires to be in government in 2013. He should never have replied in that manner.

With regards to your other comments, I believe our host on this blog has clarified.

As for the “Look Helene”, well, enough said.

I agree with many of your points and I didn’t read that he tried to phone AST, but a ‘please’ in a message sometimes can easily be misunderstood.

[Daphne – Please means please. Unlike ‘Good day’, it is neither an order nor a dismissal.]

You know that I’m no AST supporter, far from it.

I like watching some of Lou’s programmes but I always have that feeling that he treats his guests differently. His body language and that smile of a “Hax ixu Ghawdxi “ sometimes gives away his hidden agenda, which is not necessarily the PN agenda.

He is perceived as being an “undercover” spokesman for the Nationalists. I know he’s not , but he can sway public opinion with his programmes.

[Daphne – Read back what you’ve just written, because really, it’s just unbelievable.]

Let’s agree that we disagree on this opinion piece.

Daphne, please, I watch foreign stations and travelled to places more than I can recall. I know what good behaviour is, and can differentiate between being arrogant and assertive. Sometimes Lou behaves badly on the screen and AST has the right to be addressed politely.We’re not at it-Tokk Gozo.

As I already wrote, Lou should have phoned him personally and started his call like “Hello Dr Sceberras Trigona, Lou Bondi’ jien, kif int? Se naghmlu programm ta’ malajr fuq il-waqa’ ta’ Gaddafi ,taf li ghadu kif inqatel. Naf li l-istedina hija ‘short notice’ u li jista’ jkollok xi appuntamenti , nixtieq nistiednek ghal Bondi+ tal-lejla , taccetta li tigi? Napprezza hafna jekk tigili ghal dal-programm.”

[Daphne – John, I’m guessing here that you missed my original description of the incident. He did try to call him and got no reply. Then he sent a message. He could have simply not bothered, given the rush to put the show together in a few hours, and had the Labour Party whine about bias. And I must say that this message is a hell of a lot better than some of the phone-calls I have to deal with, where I answer the telephone, some secretary or – much worse – receptionist comes on the line and says ‘Daphne? Zomm ftit il-linja ghax se jkellmek is-Sur X.’ Then I, the person who has been telephoned and disturbed, am expected to sit there until his majesty comes on the line at his convenience. Typical Maltese bad manners.]

“Call me please”: who needs who? Why should I call you? Bondi needs a person to use for HIS program and asks the invited person to phone him . That’s highly impolite.

[Daphne – Exactly, John. Who needs who? The answer to your question is that AST needs the exposure, but obviously thinks, as you do, that he is the one doing the favours.]

For your question whether you need to be tamed, look at your writings and judge for yourself, here’s one fresh example “Sorry to butt in…..”
As you always say: we lack courtesy here in Malta.

[Daphne – John, once more you are going to think me rude when I say this, but like very many people raised in a quintessentially Maltese culture, you confuse directness with rudeness and subordination with courtesy. The Duke of Edinburgh, by your standards, would be working-class. Your sentiment that people like Lou, or me, ‘need to be tamed’, and the fact that you don’t see anything wrong in expressing it still less thinking it, is evidence of where you’re coming from. But I’m not going to elaborate.]

If I’m not mistaken AST is well bred.

[Daphne – He comes from what is called a ‘good family’ or, as my grandmother would have put it ‘nafuhom’. But he has been overwhelmed by a lifetime of grudges and is, consequently, insufferably ill-mannered and nasty. John Attard Montalto, whose background is identical in every respect, including politically (as I recall, both families were originally Stricklandjani like mine but switched to Labour) has a totally different character and personality and consequently, has remained very civilised. AST is an unpleasant person, full stop.]

Look Helene, we know Lou, and we know AST. You don’t snap your fingers at AST and tell him: “Come to my programme so that I’ll interrogate you ,and give you a hamper for coming”.

[Daphne – Sorry to butt in, but that’s not what Bondi’s message said at all.]

You don’t write a message in that case, you politely ask on the phone “viva voce” whether your guest is available to appear on the show.

I find Lou’s message arrogant and impolite. If he thinks that he’s showing us anything, it’s the crass attitude he shows towards his guests before and during his ego trips on our national TV station. He needs to be tamed.

[Daphne – Do I need to be tamed as well, John? Come on. It’s your attitude that’s wrong – and TYPICALLY Maltese in a way that I just can’t put my finger on. It’s part and parcel of the same culture that absolutely discourages and frowns upon individualism and encourages group behaviour. It is the reason, I suppose, everyone wears the same clothes and decorates their homes in exactly the same way, fearing anything that might be considered different.]

Alex Sceberras Trigona replied in the capacity of international secretary of the Labour Party, which aspires to be in government in 2013. He should never have replied in that manner.

A “please” does not always mean request; it can mean an order.

Min irid in-nar ifittxu.

I don’t blame AST for the reply he gave Bondi.

Half the relics from the 70s and 80s are always at half mast, at best.

There are artificial means not available in the 70s and may not have yet been discovered at the Mile End because they do not appear on the free medicine register.