From Mr N. Vella

On Saturday 8 March, as people queued to vote, Marie Benôit was invited for a confidential gathering in a house in Birkirkara, private residence of none other than the Leader of the Opposition. Whether Ms Benôit did attend this get-together is none of my business. However, Ms Benôit thinks that she is a contemporary Marie Antoinette: only she has the freedom to think and act as she wishes. The rest should eat cake.

Last Sunday, having watched my participation on Bondiplus about the MLP general conference, she tried to disgrace me by revealing who my father is, a former GWU representative who “has for years been chums with Dr George Abela”. Maybe Ms Benôit thought she was writing for the defunct Pravda. Hello Marie! We are living in the 21st century, in Europe, emancipated, and we are all individuals now. Not that I am not proud of my origins and of my father, but we no longer live in tribes led by elders who tell us what to think and what to say.

Getting to some substance, Ms Benôit wrote, and I quote: “There are those who are already trying to curry favour with the latter (Dr George Abela) and indeed pushing his candidature and spinning like mad, so that should he eventually become Prime Minister their commercial interests even under a Labour government would be protected, they hope”. I thank Ms Benôit for interpreting for us mortals, exactly who Dr Sant was referring to in his “excellent” Parliamentary speech when he said precisely the same thing without mentioning names. Apparently, in her book such a statement needs no further explanation. In mine it does and I’ll be waiting for it in the Sundays to come.

Ms Benôit also opined that on Bondiplus the undersigned was totally unconvincing. This without mentioning a single argument of mine which, according to her, is hogwash. Too much to ask from her? She only wrote that on Bondiplus I was being used as “a Laburist or as a once-Laburist who was disenchanted with the party”. How sad to see her still living in political cuckoo land. She has not yet realised that the only “once-Laburist” in this country is today’s Malta Labour Party.

Ms Benôit also took me to task for interviewing Dr Lawrence Gonzi during the election campaign live on TV – no hush-hush revealed. Let me get this straight. She has the right to be a self-confessed Sant groupie but I can’t ask the Prime Minister questions about workers’ rights, hospital waiting lists, the cost of living, the future of education, work, pensions, free health care and so on and so forth. Bizarre double standards to say the least.

Incidentally, had the Labour Party invited me to interview their leader during the election campaign I would have gladly accepted. But the Labour Party would certainly never invite someone who Ms Benôit is objecting to being called a journalist. Perhaps, had I stayed on working for l-orizzont or for One News I would have received that invitation and would have got a tribute in some of Ms Benôit’s articles.

Norman Vella

MQABBA