It was correct to have two days of national mourning and a state funeral for Dom Mintoff. Perit Mintoff held the post of Prime Minister for many years and was at the centre of Maltese politics for more than half a century.

It was correct for many to highlight the good he had done or attempted to do; however, it would be historical injustice and an injustice for those who lived during those years not to point out that Dom Mintoff dominated the local political and social scene and we were the ones who he dominated.

To my mind, the Mintoffian era from 1971 to 1987 was a dark era. I am including those years in which Dr Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici was Prime Minister, because in actual fact KMB continued with the Mintoffian philosophy of might is right. Mintoff was the mastermind of many social reforms, such as pensions, children’s allowances, free accommodation and minimum wage; however, there was no need during those years to instil a sense of fear and attempt to stamp out any other voices.

Mintoff controlled with an iron fist and there were many who were given a free hand to use that fist. The changes that many commentators emphasised during the remembrance transmissions tried to camouflage the violent acts by describing them as “controversial”. There is nothing controversial about violence, intimation or discrimination. It is pure and simply wrong. It was wrong then and it is wrong now.

How can one justify the closing of the Blue Sisters, the burning of The Times printing press, or the ransacking of Eddie Fenech Adami’s home and PN clubs? How can anyone justify the doctors’ lock-out, the closing of businesses, the expropriation of property just to be given to Mintoffians or to be converted into the MLP clubs? How can one justify the transfers of civil servants just to be annoying or skipping the same people from promotions to create hardship? There was no need of all this in order for him to introduce much-needed social services.

The Mintoffian economical policy was to starve the population from the basics and distribute them at will. The irony is that someone commented that Dom Mintoff was so much of a visionary that the EU is now adopting his “golden rule” of no deficit. The comparison is so mind boggling and absurd. The EU is all for investment and encourages top-of-the-range services. The EU Cohesion policy exists in order for all EU citizens to benefit from the best that EU can offer. It would have not approved a second hand telephone exchange system or else an airport fitting only to the third world Western African country emerging from a civil war, or else rationing of electricity and water. I doubt the EU Council of Ministers will adopt the Mintoffian bulk buying policies and protectionism. Malta under the Mintoffian era was backwards both politically and economically.

I must admit that my participation in politics may be attributed to Dom Mintoff and his politics. I am a reaction to his way of doing things. I grew up when he was Prime Minister and therefore, you can say, I am a product of Dom Mintoff; however, I have nothing to praise or I have no fond recollections of his premiership. Living in Pietà, I used to catch the school bus from in front of Xandir Malta, surrounded by soldiers. I remember the jerry cans at home and having shallow baths. I remember seeing my father come back from the office disappointed and frustrated, because he was skipped yet again from another promotion. Therefore, please excuse me for not shouting at his funeral “Grazzi Perit” (Thank you Perit).

In these days following the Dom Mintoff’s demise, Joseph Muscat and the PL have a golden opportunity at hand to state to the generations who lived during Mintoff’s era that his methods and those of the Labour of those days were wrong; not “dubious”, not “controversial”, but wrong. Without such a statement, Joseph Muscat, would not have buried the Mintoffian policy and will indicate in no uncertain terms that he intentionally wants to keep them alive for those personalities he has inherited and who still advise him.

The new voters today may only know the Mintoffian politics from tales told by their parents and grandparents and maybe hints from some Melitensia book. I feel it is my duty as a politician to make sure that they do not experience the harshness of extreme socialism, as so many had to experience.

I believe that Mintoff’s legacy should be “never again”. We should never again hate each other, we should never attack each other and we should never poison the minds of our young to do both.

Dr Mifsud is a PN candidate on the first district