Just loved being on TVAM

I loved it, being on TVAM. Facing Pierre Portelli, the former PN president, and telling him to his face that he had worked hard not to see me on TVM during the election campaign, together with Natalino Fenech (the former head of news at PBS - who is not, I repeat, head of news anymore).

Fact. Not my imagination.

Thank God I do not need PBS to get a message out. It did not suit either Pierre or Natalino Fenech that I shook the system, but really thank God I do not need PBS to get my ideas across.

The pity is that for months and years, many issues which needed to be debated were skirted and ignored for one particular reason: to give unfair advantage to one political formation and clan. That is my opinion. And I will stand by it.

The last time I appeared on TVAM was at the beginning of January. After that it was simply a case of being persona non grata. Which is not difficult with the likes of Pierre Portelli.

So when I did walk in, I made it a point to get this off my chest. Pierre Portelli looked the other way, as if I was some kind of turd. It was clear that he was not comfortable with the subject of Dalligate.

So when I told him and thanked him for his invitation and for not having invited me when it came to the oil scandal, and all the other electoral stories, he simply blew up. Mission accomplished.

If you are a host, rule number one, your guest is always right; if you are a guest you have the privilege of being a first-class pain the ass. Now it is worth pointing out in point form where the Maltese media and, most important of all, the Maltese political class handled the Dalli affair disgracefully.

TVM: Well, according to Mr Lou Bondì, who was ceremoniously converted into a PBS reporter and rocketed to Mr Giovanni Kessler's press conference on 17 October, Dalli was basically guilty before being accused. After that, it was TVM in Dalli-bashing mode. Bondi even had a programme all by himself on the Dalli issue. In Maltese we say Kemm hu kapaċi!

The Times of Malta: Here too we had the usual posse of Times journalists who, traditionally, always questioned the suitability of John Dalli as a human being let alone a commissioner and never sympathetic to questioning the 'accusations' made against Dalli. Only when the Rita Schembri scandal surface did journalists such as Mark Micallef start to see the light.

Office of the Prime Minister: Rita Schembri, Godwin Grima, Gordon Pisani and Edgar Galea Curmi, Richard Cachia Caruana and the Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi were surely in no mood to shed tears for the demise of John Dalli. When Kessler started to knock on doors in Malta about John Dalli he discovered willing partners so keen to show him the way home.

An officer in the European office in Malta:  He was responsible for organising blogs against John Dalli when the OPM thought that Dalli would be contesting against Gonzi in February 2012. Thankfully, the then prime minister contested against himself and won.  Wow.

The Independent: no comment.

The queen of bile: when she heard the word Dalli she remembered how much her beloved RCC had suffered, and went into overdrive. It was beyond any doubt like a scene from the Exorcist.

The police before March 9: treating the whole issue as a political issue not a criminal one

Our politicians: Louis Grech, Edward Scicluna, Joe Cuschieri, Simon Busuttil and Joe Cuschieri. They will be remembered for being unusually convergent on one issue. For doing fuck-all and not raising an eyebrow about Dalligate.

Franco Debono: He was the only MP to ask for a debate in the national parliament. Love him or hate him, he made a lot of sense.