By George, it’s Giorgio – Ranier Fsadni
Independent Malta’s first prime minister always signed his Christian name as Giorgio. To his party’s supporters, Borg Olivier was known by the Maltese version, Ġorġ. But that is what others affectionately called him. When presenting himself, even in a letter in English to the queen, he signed Giorgio.
No doubt, that’s how he also signed his prickly correspondence with this newspaper in the 1950s, after the first time he lost power. Yet, here, his name appeared in print as George.
It still does. Only last week, the eagle-eyed copy editors of this column (who have often saved me from my own typos and errors) pounced: Giorgio, once more, became George. And, where Times of Malta leads, the other English-language media follow.
It’s more peculiar than it might seem. The reason can’t be the house style. Otherwise we’d be reading about the former presidents Guy De Marco and Hugh Mifsud Bonnici.
The paper would report on the Thomas Fenech and Sylvester Debono commercial groups. We’d be instructed on the law in op-eds by the former European commissioner, Tony Borg.
Instead, it’s Guido, Ugo, Tumas, Silvio and Tonio. Even Borg Olivier’s brother is referred to, quite properly, as Paolo, not...