“Both administrations have their own sins”.

True, but here’s the difference.

Whenever there is a Nationalist government scandal, it makes the news.

On the day that there is no Labour government scandal, THAT is news.

I knew about Falzon’s background. But I thought he had spent the last few decades trying to distance himself from his ghetto roots. I suppose breeding will out, and a man will always end up making friends among those of his own class.

Here’s what I wrote in response to someone who commented pretty much what you did, a few minutes ago:

Michael Falzon is not “a lawyer from Sliema”.

He is the son of a Mintoffian grocer who had a house in Amery Street, Sliema. conveniently just a few doors up from his grocer’s shop, requisitioned for him by the Mintoffian government.

Michael’s mother, a very, very nice woman called Karmena, remained illiterate all her life and was from Gozo. She came to work in Sliema as a maid in those days when maids were poor girls who lived in for bed and board, and she met Muse, Michael’s father, who worked for the corner grocer.

They married, and he took over the shop.

Karmena and Muse drove Michael and his younger brother Silvio very hard to study and succeed, but their original ‘success’ was actually due to nothing more than Mintoffian political patronage, for they both got jobs at the bank when the banks were controlled by the Labour Party, and the banks even sponsored their law studies.

They didn’t do that for everyone, but only for cronies.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I grew up literally round the corner from them, and I’m his brother’s age.

Not so at all. The ‘minority’ you describe was even more of a minority a generation or two ago.

Never make the mistake of thinking that things have changed.

They have not.

Or rather the only thing that has changed is that you are now exposed to droves of people like Clint Scerri whereas in the past you had to go to special places to see them.

To quote an older person of my acquaintance: “Il-hamallu minn dejjem kien maghna, imma issa l-hamallu ghandu karozza.”

And that about sums it up. Before they stuck to their own necks of the woods and nobody else had to deal with them. Now they’re driving around everywhere and invading every corner of the island. It doesn’t mean there are more of them. It just means they now have a set of wheels and different ideas on where to go.

I grew up in Sliema. The Lazy Corner – where Clint grew up – was then was a sink-pit. It was wife-beater-vests-and-flick-knives territory.

If you think Maltese society has degenerated, you really were not exposed to much of Maltese life, and led a very sheltered existence. Up to a generation ago, Maltese people of a certain sort were proper savages.

No, I’m not. Your sons and the “many people you know” are then part of a minority breed, unfortunately for Maltese society.

It’s what we impart to our children from day one that matters and parenting nowadays is no match to the disciplined but fair upbringing children were exposed to in years gone by.

Many parents see parenting as an unwanted, non-value-added burden and a distraction to career. I’m positive that there are quite a number of parents, myself included, who sacrifice a lot to bring up honest and upright children.

My point is, we are or are fast becoming a minority.

The Labour Party is not corrupt if the PM does not intervene. It is corrupt. Period.