“It’s the personal insults that made me angry”: Tony Galea
Dear Dr Mercieca.
It is with deep regret that I am writing this comment to you personally because I don’t even feel the urge to post it on your blog although my face and name is quite prominent in one of your articles. I am a seventy-year old Nationalist, a strong believer in what my Party stands for (excluding of course divisions).
As a youngster, I was already following Dr Giorgio Borg Olivier and from my first love back then, nothing or no one kept me away from my beliefs. I was a staunch supporter of our dear Eddie, followed Gonzi closely and was at Dar Ċentrali working voluntarily during the years of Simon Busuttil and Adrian Delia, with whom I shared various views and sometimes even crossed swords. But when this happened, it was always very civilly. My voting preferences in the choice of Kap should not enter in the equation. My common denominator was always the Nationalist Party, its flag and emblem.
I assisted the Party throughout my working days in any way possible but with limitations due to my work and also being the only bread winner in the family. But from day one, when I reached pension age, I was always giving a helping hand at Dar Centrali on a voluntary basis and just for your information, I was in charge of the Tesseri. BUT throughout all these years, I never did anything to attract attention from the media, bloggers etc. I feel like screaming my outright disappointment that my name, my face and that of my colleagues and friends, have been splashed on Facebook posts, papers, radios, TVs and anything else you can imagine always for the wrong reason.
I feel disgusted (to say the least) that I, with my colleagues Anton Debono and John Pillow, hit the news on One on more than one occasion, due to posts, messages (whatever) splashed around by another candidate, with whom I might be working with as from tomorrow. What an unpleasant situation. What a shame that a simple contestation had to fall to such levels. What an absurd act from someone, who should have known better. In these circumstances, no apologies will suffice although it is a virtue for me to be able to forgive but not forget.
Please allow me to be clear, I am one to accept block votes. It’s not that that irked me. It’s the personal insults that make me angry. They hurt most. This person has tried to humiliate my personality with the assistance of his beloved mother and other candidates, who never distanced themselves from his writings.
Notwithstanding, my true love for the Party will never be tampered with due to the insensitiveness and immaturity of certain people. Nor will my fidelity to the Nationalist Party change because of these people, who are causing this unwarranted divisiveness. But with a heavy heart, I have to state that no action whatsoever was taken by the relevant authorities within the Party to stop this charade.
On my part, I will conclude by stating that I will continue following the flag whether it is within the Sliema sectional committee or otherwise.
Thank you for your time Dr Mercieca.
Tony Galea