Remember that the writer of that piece was Alex Vella Gera.

Mark Camilleri was only the editor of Realta’, the newspaper/pamphlet that published it.

Natalie, unfortunately you’re probably right. Who wants an educated populace, when you can have a much easier life with drooling followers hanging on to your every word?

For shame. They’d have us all illiterate; that’s the best way to exercise control.

I have no idea how he speaks in Maltese, but I remember being shocked at his atrocious English. A university student (and magazine editor to boot) sounding literally like a potato farmer. I felt embarrassed listening to his desperate attempts to make himself understood.

And is he some kind of Graffitti member? Because he could really have used a shower and shave before regaling the Al Jazeera cameras with his impressive linguistic skills.

All hail il-bidla.

Narmawa bis-sold/xelin,,,

This was quite possibly the only decent thing the government has done since getting elected. Now they’ve gone ahead and undermined it already, and just in time for the beginning of the school year.

The message is clear: books are not that important, or at least not as important as regurgitated, stale music.

Way to go, Mr Minister.

As for Mark Camilleri, I support his right to publish his stories in the same way I support Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s right to claim the holocaust never happened. It’s just a matter of free speech. It doesn’t make his writings any less worthless than they really are.

He adds nothing to the value of Maltese literature and has no right being anywhere near the National Book Council, let alone heading it. No doubt though that Joseph Muscat thinks that by choosing a ‘controversial author’ he is showing us how liberal and progressive the new government is.

Legions of fools are going to applaud this move.