Madam, - John Waters (Opinion, August 6th) attacks the kind of journalism that exposed Cosimo Mele, a politician of the Italian Christian Democratic UDC party, for having enjoyed the company of prostitutes while away from home on business. "Either we live in an age of non-judgmentalism or we do not," Mr Waters writes. "If a left-winger's private life is not the business of the media, then neither is a right-winger's. The claim of the media to be legitimately pursuing the exposure of 'hypocrisy' is bogus. If a politician tells me I should refrain from sleeping with prostitutes, find a nice respectable woman and settle down, then the quality of this advice remains unaffected by whether or not the politician is able to follow his own advice."
But how does Mr Waters assess the "quality" of something if the sales person does not believe in the product himself? How can it be a "quality" product for others if not for himself? I do not know how far Signor Mele deviates from the policies of his party, but the press is right to keep an eye on the activities of politicians who promote one thing and do another. The kind of journalism which Mr Waters deplores is the very kind that exposed similar inconsistencies in the Catholic Church.
If a male politician of Mr Mele's party had enjoyed a romp with a couple of male prostitutes while his party opposed legislation for same-sex unions, would this too be "a private matter"? It would be hypocrisy. Would Mr Waters still say: "I couldn't care less what politicians get up to in middle of the night"? - Yours, etc,
DECLAN KELLY, Davis Court, Christchurch, Dublin 8.