I am sorry to disappoint Francis Formosa but in the real world not everything is black or white (“The 1939 reality”, TMIS, 10 January). There are shades of grey as well. The reason why this country cannot come to terms with its modern history is because we tend to see everything as them or us.

The pro Italian culture faction in Malta was here for hundreds of years. The fact that Italy turned to fascism in the 1920s does not mean that every pro-Italian became a fascist. Of course there were a lot of Mussolini sympathisers everywhere across the political scene. He had a lot of backers in the Catholic Church itself! Certainly, a number of activists within the Nationalist Party were also Mussolini sympathisers but certainly not all of them and certainly not their leaders. Enrico Mizzi was too much of a liberal philosopher to be a fascist sympathiser: he just was not.

The historical documentation, which I published long ago, shows that the only organised fascists in Malta were the Union of Maltese Fascists, pro English ex soldiers and so on who, yes, looked to Mosley as their leader.

This is an issue that needs a clear-headed discussion. A lot of incorrect facts have been written. I stick to the real facts, that is, those that are documented.

Ray Bondin

GHAJNSIELEM