It is fascinating to note how a skilled journalist can find enough tripe, (not rope) to make a tasty kawlata à la Daphne.

I am referring to the article “Enough rope to hang themselves”, by Ms Daphne Caruana Galizia (TMIS, 26 June).

How on earth can Daphne think that she can defend the status quo of a long standing glaring injustice, by pouring more empty platitudes, and hope to remain credible? On the one hand, Daphne acknowledges the injustice of an out-dated rent law, and on the other she opines that the best course of action is inaction! Mind boggling? Her suggestion that perhaps we should wait another 60 years before any action is contemplated, is pure applesauce, not worthy of a journalist of her calibre, yet that seems to be the conclusion of the superior intelligence coming from the back of beyond.

She struggled through an impressively long and dull article in support of an inane stance of passivity, as if 60 years of inaction were not enough.

This is an issue, which while everybody pays lip service that something needs to be done, it had to be AD to put it back on the country’s agenda.

Neither the PN, nor the MLP, considered the iniquitous rent laws juicy enough politically. It does not take a genius to realise that there are always going to be those for and against in almost equal numbers, hence the reluctance of the two major parties to grapple with this issue, preferring the abortion canard to excite a sorely jaundiced public, who instinctively knows when one is being taken for a ride.

According to Daphne, the result of the referendum counts for nothing, if the majority want the reform, the government can still procrastinate and employ all the delaying tactics that have been its hallmark. If it fails, the rent reform will be dead in the water. That is the essence of Daphne`s unusually boringly, long article.

The question arises as to what is the real motive behind her attempted mocking of Alternattiva Demokratika’s initiative. I believe that her side are uneasy about AD holding the balance of power. I assure Daphne that both sides will be treated equally when the crunch comes. The deciding factor will be the acceptance of a minimum of previously agreed policies, to be taken on board by the ruling administration.

Meantime, while I still confess

to be a Daphne fan, I usually enjoy her contributions, I hope that

this latest article represent the

nadir of her otherwise prolific

and undisputed journalistic

excellence.

Victor Spiteri

ATTARD