A megalomaniac clown leading a gaggle of clowns. Makes a perfect set for a Charlie Chaplin movie.

Rumour has it that the strong masochistic and paranoid streak in his character hails back to the days of the Socialist Golden Era , when he was appointed as the official playmate of Kim Il Sung’s offspring during the summer months spent holidaying in the Salvatur’s luxurious Gharix.

According to a gentle (only at first blush) article appearing in the Financial Times (http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b08c4d7c-eb6b-11e1-b8b7-00144feab49a.html#axzz39nAPDXul) in 2010:

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“Mintoff, who reportedly died peacefully at his home with his children nearby, will be remembered mainly as the leader of a very small country who too often felt obliged to assert himself by rude and quarrelsome behaviour. This made him many enemies.”

Tinkwetax. Dan għadu fil-bidu imma diġà qed juri li jrid jimxi fuq il-passi tas-suppost Salvatur.

M’hemmx paragun. L-attrocitajiet li ghamel Mintoff kienu tal-wahx. Kellu hafna ghal xiex jibza.

I’m sure this event repeats itself with the present fatman too.

Was Mintoff’s constant fear of being assassinated justified? Is it known if there been such attempts, especially from other nations?

When Mintoff went to university to speak in his old age he was already a few sandwiches short of a picnic, but 35 years ago he must have been a sane man.

[Daphne – Like many oppressors of the people, he was paranoid. He never accepted invitations to meals or ate at restaurants, unless the food was served from a buffet and everybody helped themselves from the same dishes. And the reason he always carried a vacuum flask with him into the office, with his coffee or tea or whatever it was he drank, was because he even feared being poisoned by his own office staff if he asked for coffee from the Auberge de Castille kitchen.]