Comments on: Here’s another one about Dom Mintoff, champion of the workers

By: Francis Saliba MD

Francis Saliba MD — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 03:02:38 +0000

What is just as important, what has that charitable soul, Fr Mark Montebello got to say?

By: A. Charles

A. Charles — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:37:05 +0000

In reply to Snoopy. Snoopy, you are right; it was the SMU.

By: Grezz

Grezz — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:35:02 +0000

What has Yana Mintoff bland got to say about this? That it ruins her father’s immaculate reputation, perhaps? It is anecdotes like these which should have been included in Dear Dom.

By: Francis Saliba MD

Francis Saliba MD — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:44:33 +0000

Those times left much more than one “young girl” dead.It was only recently revealed by a past MLP member of parliament. on TV, that he was actually accused of being responsible for that girl’s murder by none other than the girl’s mother herself.

There were other political murders,of course, but thankfully they became things of the past as soon as Dr Eddie Fenech Adami succeeded KMB as Malta’s Prime Minister.

By: Francis Saliba MD

Francis Saliba MD — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:29:50 +0000

In reply to DICKENS. You mustn't blame Mintoff for that paranoia. In his time, such contrived power cuts were not unknown. I remember a Sliema power cut coinciding with the stoning, by the usual MLP thugs, of Nationalist supporters, leaving a political party meeting in a Sliema cinema near the Ferries. Disappointed by what they considered inadequate police support those MLP thugs succeeded to bring about the early retirement of the police officer in charge who was being framed and accused of obstructing the MLP thugs in their errand of violence.

By: Francis Saliba MD

Francis Saliba MD — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:06:58 +0000

One true anecdote to redress the political balance and to save me (some hope!) from the usual accusation of being a chauvinistic Nationalist bigot.

A very prominent Nationalist politician made an emergency stop at the Sliema police station reporting a suspected ticking time-bomb stuck to his car. A diligent search did not produce a bomb but there was a stuck trafficator signal.

We were certainly living in what the wise Chinese would describe as “interesting” times. May we never give them a chance to recur.

By: Pedantiku

Pedantiku — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:53:20 +0000

The North Korean-trained enforcers were the Special Mobile Unit, the SMU. The SAG, Special Assignment Group replaced the SMU when the latter was removed by PN in government following the May 1987 election.

By: DICKENS

DICKENS — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:46:25 +0000

A few years ago a doctor told this story at a dinner party. He was called out to Dom Mintoff’s house because he was ill. There was a sudden power cut. Dom threw one hell of a tantrum because he was convinced that the power cut was an attempt by the government to sabotage the doctor’s call and hence an attempt on his, Mintoff’s, life.

By: Francis Saliba MD

Francis Saliba MD — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:28:49 +0000

The version that reached me at the time was about a flashing light from a rooftop nearby, interpreted as someone sending a message by Morse. When the police rushed to the place they found a man oiling a stiff rooftop door and swinging the door back and forth to loosen the hinges. That is a true story.

By: Antoine Vella

Antoine Vella — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:17:53 +0000

All these anecdotes point to, among other things, Mintoff’s low self-esteem which forced him to continuously seek confirmation of his importance.

He wasn’t a happy man, was he?