They say that the good die young but this statement is completely false. Dom Mintoff passed away at the age of 96. At the age of 39, he became Prime Minister and did all he could for Malta and the Maltese, eradicating poverty from the streets. He introduced bonuses, maternity leave, widows pensions, government plots and many other initiatives. Which prime minister did what Dom Mintoff did for the Maltese? Which, which? It is thoroughly impossible to draw comparisons, simply because  there aren’t any to make. On Tuesday morning, 21 August, I woke up as grumpy as old Ebenezer Scrooge. I hadn’t slept properly the night before and I was ready to pounce on whoever contradicted me. I put the radio on louder to cheer myself up a bit but as soon as I was able to do so, I felt as if I wanted to have a good old weep; Dom Mintoff was dead at 96, 15 days after his birthday.

The man who battled his way through whatever came in his way, the assertive man who let no man or woman fool him, the bad-tempered man who shouted when he spoke but had a heart of gold, was dead.

There will never be another Dom Mintoff, intelligence-wise, ready to ‘fight’ a ‘battle’ to the end and win it. There will never be a prime minister like him either. Godspeed, dear Dom. May you find the peace you have been searching for all your life.

■ Valerie Borg

Valletta