A photograph which The Times might wish to file away to use next time they quote Franco Debono

I was taken aback by the contextual stupidity of The Times in using a very large picture of Kim Jong Il (or was it Kim Il Sung?) to illustrate a story in which that dictator, Franco Debono, called Lawrence Gonzi ‘the Great Leader’.

But maybe that’s because, unlike the reporters who wrote the story, I am of the generation for whom North Korea, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were part of reality for Malta, part of our political story.

Kim Jong Il actually lived in Malta for a time, as the guest of Prime Minister Dom Mintoff. Here he is, sitting with Mintoff in his Tarxien living-room.

This would have been an appropriate picture for The Times to use, because it has Maltese context.