Former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff’s daughters, Anne McKenna and Yana Mintoff, have issued a joint statement on the recently-published book by Mark Montebello entitled – The Tail that Wagged the Dog.
Th statement reads: “We dissociate ourselves from the book entitled ‘The Tail that Wagged the Dog’ by Mark Montebello, which is riddled with inaccuracies, factual distortions, unsubstantiated allegations, hearsay and lies about Dom Mintoff.”
It goes on to say that, “this book contains material that does not reflect the truth and encroaches on the private lives of numerous people. This is profoundly unethical and immoral.”
“No members of the immediate family were consulted or given the opportunity to preview the publication. The one interview with a family member conducted by Mark Montebello many years ago was with Anne McKenna, who terminated it abruptly due to his unduly forceful approach,” the statement said.
The statement concluded by saying, “we wish to make it clear that there are many inaccuracies contained within this attempted biography in perception, detail and conclusion.”
The book, which was written by Dr Mark Montebello, philosopher by profession, and a Dominican friar, was originally launched on the 7th of May in Gozo [1].
During the launch Dr Montebello said that, “this biography invites one and all to revise whatever is known about him until now.” He also said that it “will reveal many aspects of Mintoff’s personality that have hitherto remained hidden.”
A copy of the book has also been presented [2] by the author to Prime Minister Robert Abela.