Mr J. Falzon of Rabat (TMID, 10 November) sarcastically felt sorry for me having to pay high electricity bills and suggested that I cut firewood to heat my backside. Later on in his letter he suggested that I am telling him (and others) to lower their standard of living. Well, may I ask whether his suggestion of heating with firewood would not be lowering my standard of living? Is not what’s good for the goose, good for the gander?

Then he further contradicts himself be conceding that “he sees my point” while at the same time stating that he was “being strong in writing”. If you see my point, Mr Falzon, why was it necessary for you to go into “my defence of the government” and your suggestion “of forming a fan club of admirers of the government?” I will not be as crude suggesting where you can jump off from.

The point I was making is clear enough for anyone who can read simple English – you have to pay for the cost of energy like it or not. And if Malta is paying the international price for fuel, then you should be paying as much as I am. Wages have nothing to do with what I can afford as opposed to what you can. The only differences in energy prices in different countries are the transportation costs from refinery to retail point, or in the case of electricity, the method of generation, the maintenance of transmission lines and the replacement and maintenance costs of the plant.

You will not just be expecting, but reaping a better standard of living from this government like you did in the last 20 years by joining the EU and the eurozone. Had the government taken the advice of your party leaders, today we would be knocking on the doors of the IMF just so we can keep our banks afloat, like Iceland is doing right now. We would have resumed the role of beggars like we were in the 1970s and 1980s, getting a bit from here and a bit from there so that enough cans of sardines and “bully beef” were available to feed the masses.

Taking a shot at Austin Gatt’s girth and looks is both boorish and childish at the same time. I can comment on the looks and health of several of well-known Labour MPs, supporters and administrators but I will not descend into those depths.

If you are eating potatoes with the skin on, you must be following the good advice of your doctor or dietician since all the nutrients in fact reside in the skin. Discarding it would be sheer waste.

And if you think that “I am strong in the writing”, you are darned right and I am not the least bit sorry.

J Martinelli

London, Ontario

Canada