You should read this – it pretty much sums things up
It looks to me like the alternative is worse
This is the leading article (‘editorial’) in The Times today.
Political daydreams and nightmares
Politics, whether with a capital or a small p, is always a topical issue.
At election time the subject is, of course, the topic of the day for a good number of weeks.
The ongoing campaigning by the two large political parties ensures that issues of a political nature in their widest sense possible remain on the agenda.
Alas, it is not unusual that what the electorate thinks needs to be debated is actually what the spin doctors push to the fore.
This could include “controversies” meant solely to take public attention away from what really matters.
See what is happening now.
The outcome of a meeting the Prime Minister had with Renzo Piano about the City Gate project, the upcoming national protest over the new utility tariffs, controversial divorce legislation and the package to bus owners serve to sway attention away from a serious situation developing in the political sphere and directly affecting the two big political parties.
Not that such matters should be ignored but for people’s participation in political life to really count – an essential ingredient in a healthy, living democracy – they must be allowed, and indeed encouraged, to focus on what is of the essence in terms of ensuring real choices when election time comes.
There can be little doubt that both the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party are far from ready to face an electorate and demand a mandate to run the country.
The PN in government increasingly appears to be out of control, shorn of new ideas and spending a lot of time managing an internal crisis that promises to continue growing.
On the other hand, the PL in opposition still lacks credibility and has yet to come up with a solid and robust programme on how it plans to address the issues it says are being mishandled by the Gonzi Administration.
In a nutshell, Labour is still daydreaming and the Nationalists face a nightmare.
That does not bode well for the future of the country and that is why the people must be allowed to focus on what really matters. The spin doctors are likely to label this as an exaggeration. They can do that at their own parties’ peril.
Take the PL’s general conference and the closing address by leader Joseph Muscat. What has emerged from that event to make the party qualify as an alternative government? What workable plans has Dr Muscat unveiled apart from the usual rhetoric and wanting to be all things to all people, all the time?
Will the advent of a movement of progressives and moderates in addition to a party, a new emblem and an administrative head called by any other name but general secretary offer a real alternative?
Whether enough is being done or not, the Nationalist government is somehow handling the precarious economic situation the country is facing.
As a party, however, things seem to be going from bad to worse. Whether it is because of lack of leadership, indiscipline, arrogance, fatigue or whatever, the fact remains that the PN must take stock of the situation and put its house in order. This is now an urgent matter.
The PN should not waste any more time to start thinking outside the box, look at the mirror, glance straight in its own eyes and see whether accusations of fatigue, arrogance, insensitivity and coteries are justified or not.
The political parties must perforce keep their ears to the ground and constantly feel the people’s pulse. That is not happening.
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Well, to quote the title of that beautiful article that so pissed off Guido de Marco (I love it when you do that) all those years ago:
“This is not a normal democracy”
As you pointed out we have NO alternative, which is a tragedy created by Labour themselves.
David
Are you sure Labour is not an alternative now? I am a staunch Eddiejan (which is slightly different from Nationalist, the equivalent of Mintoffjan but on the PN side). I have always voted PN in general elections/referendums and Labour in council elections (I have my reasons).
I do believe that Labour is at present a very good alternative to the tired looking PN government and PN party.
[Daphne – It takes all sorts to make a world.]
You have to remember that the only thing that kept Labour away from power was not its inability to govern or lack of ideas but one simple factor which does not exist anymore: Alfred Sant.
[Daphne – Not the inability to govern? I hardly think so. I have some interesting statistics to hand showing the severe interruption in GDP growth in 1996-1998 – and I mean severe. If you blame it all on Sant and claim that he did it all singlehandedly, then you are deluding yourself. The mere fact that the rest of the cabinet couldn’t halt his excesses shows just what kind of people they were, willing to collaborate just to stay in the cabinet, instead of resigning as Lino Spiteri did.]
Dr. Sant created an image of himself that was unelectable – partly thanks to Jason Micallef.
Eddie is the father of modern, democratic Malta (let Labour deny it), but Malta comes before the PN for me and many other borderline floating voters.
Should the feeling of apathy, internal skirmishes, etc not subside, my vote will go Labour.
Joseph Muscat is not Alfred Sant – the sooner you wake up and smell the coffee the better because you’re in for a nasty surprise in 36 months time.
[Daphne – Hardly. In case you haven’t read me so far, I’m the one who’s been taking it for granted that Labour is going to win by default and that Muscat will be prime minister in 2013. The surprise would be the reelection of the Nationalist Party, but it would be a pleasant one though not realistic. And so please everyone stop it with this smelling the coffee.]
On the other hand – should Dr. Gonzi, hypothetically speaking, choose to resign and maybe co-opt Simon Busuttil, the PN might have a fighting chance, only though – after an effort of cleansing within the party happens – the type of cleansing that does away with backbench threats.
Then there is the Borg Olivier factor. Joe Saliba had a lot of charisma that that Paul does not – Paul is not well liked with, let us say, a number of PN people and surely the floating voters (who decide election results).
The PN is, in my opinion, only so much in a better position than Labour was when Mintoff resigned. Of course not as bad, you can’t beat Karmenu’s era, ever (well Fred Sant came close) but we’re not light years away from that either.
I would not hesitate in voting Labour if an election was held with the present circumstances and within the next 6-12 months.
[Daphne – Ah, but you can predict what you would do in 36 months.]
Hello Daphne
The comment was addressed to a certain David B. So the smell the coffee bit was for him, not you (how did you come into the picture?). I don’t know what you predicted will happen in 2013. It does not take a Nostradamus to do so at the point.
What will I do in 36 months? As a borderline floating voter, I would be a tad out of line if I went that far. On the other hand, how many here already know how they’ll vote in 36 months – notwithstanding anything, apart from having been born in one way or the other.
[Daphne – I know exactly how I’m going to vote (against Labour) and I wasn’t born ‘one way or the other.]
I listed my factors already vis-a-vis present circumstances:
the Gonzi and Borg Olivier factor (yawn)
Simon Busuttil
the Backbench friendly fire
Leave those as they are and in 36 months I don’t see myself changing my voting plans.
[Daphne – Joseph Muscat, Anglu Farrugia, Toni Abela, Entni Zammit, the rest of the sorry crew: leave those as they are and I’m not changing my voting plans either.]
Melita,
Can you please tell me why the PL is a very good alternative as I must have been missing something?
Melita, you say ‘I do believe that Labour is at present a very good alternative to the tired looking PN government and PN party.’
I agree that the PN government is looking tired and frankly Gonzi isn’t a patch on Eddie but how can you call Labour a good alternative when they’re clearly licking every arse they can find?
They keep moaning about the country’s disastrous state, rampant poverty et cetera but how do they propose to fix these problems? How will they reduce waiting lists at Mater Dei without adding to the enormous amounts the health services guzzle down?
How will they encourage the Freeport to expand, when they whinge about the noise pollution it causes? How will they lower water and electricity rates?
By taxing something else?
What is the MLP/PL record in government? Almost unmitigated disaster.
When there were relative successes – such as Air Malta – it was due to economic circumstances which no longer exist. Air Malta used to charge around LM180 (in today’s terms, allowing for inflation, around €700) for a return flight on most of its routes.
There’s no way it can do that now but it still bears the burden of huge overstaffing costs (due to the way it was set up by the then Labour government).
Will Joe Muscat have the b***s to fire a couple of hundred KM employees? For the record, I must also state that Joe Tabone caused the airline to lose millions with his numbskull acquisition of the BA RJs.
I agree that the PN government is poor and tired, but Labour a very good alternative? Why? Please explain.
The “smell the coffee” part makes me think whether you are one of the elves?
If you are, then the following is going to fall on infertile ground.
Can you give me one positive and tangible proposal by Labour (or is the MPM) in the past two years or so? Do you really think that the PL can in one fell swoop reduce electicity bills, reduce VAT, reduce income tax, reduce the waiting list at the state hospital, reduce the health and social benefit bill, allow hunting to all, increase the state subsidy for alternative energy, reduce (or even eliminate) through legal and humane means the irregular immigration issue, remove the possible EU fines for excessive emissions, and the other 101 promises to god, the devil and any other deity of the universe?
Melita, if you think that Eddie is the father of democracy, you should first have a look at what he did in his party while in opposition, then have a look at what Joseph Muscat is doing in HIS party.
It is difficult to fill the shoes of an exceptional leader; Dr Gonzi is in that position.
Joseph Muscat has succeeded three defeated leaders. He cannot do anything worse than Alfred Sant or Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, so he is considered by many as their last hope.
Going on his track record, I cannot see him as a good prime minister. Speaking in favour of gay rights and divorce won’t solve our economic problems which every country in the world is facing.
You will have Joseph by default as prime minister but you will also suffer the consequences of cutting your nose to spite your face.
Just watch his way of doing things in HIS party, and the kind of people he wants to be surrounded with and get their advice. Can you imagine Eddie hurling his principles out of the window and hiring Ronnie Pellegrini to give him advice on how to run his campaigning in the 1980s, just to have a better chance of becoming prime minister?
Well, power-hungry Joseph did just that when he hired Marisa Micallef.
Can you imagine Eddie not kicking out Josie Muscat and his Front Freedom Fighters when in opposition and before an election? Well, Joseph seems to like the company of people like Anglu Farrugia, Alex Sceberras Trigona, Joe Grima, Joe Debono Grech and Ronnie Pellegrini, to mention a few.
Probably you voted for Eddie for the wrong reasons. Tonight there is Bijografiji on TVM featuring Eddie, I do not know what’s in it but I would like you to watch it.
I’m sure that Joseph is no match for Eddie or Gonzi.
Dont you get fastrated seeing our great leader being friends and liked by everyone while your hubby GONZIPN li milli ghedna ma hemm xejn is loosing his seat from under his incompettent bottom.inharraq lol u infiska go fik mara hadra mimlijja hdura.
[Daphne – tony’s back.]
Fast rated? Explain further will you? Do you mean the million hits in 10 days or something?
“our great leader” North Korea admirer I see.
Gonzi is loosing his seat? What spanner is he using?
His incompettent bottom? Assuming you mean incompetent, what is a bottom competent for other then excreting the likes of you?
Yes guys the epitome of charm itself tony is back but, and it’s a big but, he ain’t Tony Pace.
And there I was for a moment, thinking that Tony Pace had gone off his rocker.
Ara tnewwillix ftit id-dettalji tieghek, Ton, ha nibghat it-tfal ghandek ghall-privat tal-Malti u l-Ingliz.
Dak zgur rezultat tal-edukazzjoni taht il-Lejber.
And again no punctuation.
The great leader – brr, makes me feel that I am in North Korea – a reminder of the 70s and 80s. Is this the new type of politics of the Moderates and Progressives? But I forgot, even North Korea is the land of the progressives.
Tony – activate the ‘spell check’ on your computer !
Quoting from the article:
“There can be little doubt that both the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party are far from ready to face an electorate and demand a mandate to run the country.”
The sad fact is that the party that was given a mandate to run the country two years ago is far from ready to run the country. Then who is running the country at the moment? The answer is simple: no one.
The country is running on its own. When something changes this established status quo, someone from the back benches forces the so-called prime minister into a U-Turn. End result: five years wasted down the drain. Malta deserves better.
p.s. The Times editorial is sounding more and more like Malta Today. Coincidence?
[Daphne – It is not at all like Malta Today. It is coherently written, is not replete with errors of grammar, syntax and vocabulary, and is obviously not written by somebody who backed John Dalli in the leadership race and who has never forgiven Gonzi for winning instead.]
The PN strategy is now very clear…keep repeating that the LP is not presenting “workable alternatives”…on and on…until it sinks. OK, good strategy. And I think it will once again win points, being repeated at every corner.
But this is NOT election time. Parties in opposition do not present “workable alternatives” three years before a general election, but keep their cards close to their chests.
[Daphne – You mean like Sant did? Well, that turned out well.]
Governing the country is now the PN’s problem.
[Daphne – Yes, Albert, but not having a viable alternative is everyone’s problem. Quite frankly, the prospect of government by Joseph Muscat, Anglu Farrugia and Toni Abela unsettles me more than the thought of another three years of Jeffrey and the other childish backbenchers throwing tantrums and giving quotes to Super One.]
So an informed, intelligent public expects the government, elected not even two years ago, and still not even in mid-term, to come up with the solutions. The “workable alternatives” will come at election time, when all parties present their electoral programme.
As used to be said in the cartoon “I’s your dog, Charlie Brown”.
‘The “workable alternatives” will come at election time, when all parties present their electoral programme.’
By which you mean an endless stream of misprints and computers that malfunctioned? Or, say, something vacuous along the lines of ‘Partnership’ with the EU? Or maybe you mean a policy in the grand tradition of abolishing VAT without a workable alternative, and ‘Svizzera fil-Mediterran’.
As I recall, the current leadership of the Labour Party championed all of those ‘policies’.
An early election is on the horizon.
[Daphne – Something tells me even the Labour Party doesn’t want that. It’s already had a harsh lesson in what happens when you are elected to government and are unprepared for it.]
Take it from the horse’s mouth. Labour DO NOT WANT an early election. They got this one right. They know they’re not ready for it. The problem, however, is will they ever be? Sadly, I very much doubt it. We deserve a decent alternative and it’s not there.
Of course Muscat wants an election – he’s got a bunch of goo-goo-eyed fans hanging on to every word he says, has a really easy and well paid job and no responsibilities whatsoever.
He hasn’t got a clue what it means to face reality. Let’s face it, when in his life did he have a job with anything near the pressure of running a country? As Super 1 hack? MEP? Please!
He’ll crumble when he has to be prime minister and see what it’s all about, and crumble fast as the elephant rider, I’m sure, knows very well and is anticipating.
To some people’s delight and other’s horror PN’s time has reached saturation point. The problem is that for better or for worse Labour is the only alternative, unless we all just decide to let Norman or Harry take the stand. Sarcasm aside, I wonder whether Malta would ever see a third party emerge as a reasonably credible competitor to the red and blue giants.
Better an administrative government such as we have now than a ‘dynamic’ one interfering in each facet of our lives. It’s a pity that few people realise that our lives should not depend on the ‘government’ but that it’s up to us to achieve whatever we want from our lives. Frankly, those who depend on government to give them a life are losers.
The time is ripe for the birth of a Liberal Party – we’re never going to get anywere with pnlpadan.
We’ve already got a variant of Britain’s one-time Monster Raving Loony Party. It’s called PL but is still sorting out its brand. One day it might actually get around to planning policy proposals.
A big problem for our country is that for many years there has been no serious opposition. This has led to the PN being elected time and again by default, since although many people are dissatisfied with how things are being run, they still keep voting PN because they don’t see a really viable alternative on the other side of the fence.
Of course this is a big problem. I would think that the situation directly contributes to the party in government becoming more and more arrogant and corrupt, projecting an attitude of “Hey, we can do what we want. We know you won’t vote for the other guys, anyway – they are much worse than the worst we can do, and you know that.. remember the 80s… !”
Unfortunately, there can be no real democracy without a serious opposition. If you feel like you have no real choice, it defeats the whole purpose of being able to vote!
I see the short stint with Alfred Sant as prime minister, as a positive thing for our history. Not in the sense that he was such a great choice, but more for the fact that the electorate managed to send a message to the PN, which was already feeling like it had a god given right to stay in government forever. Alfred Sant was the new kid on the block, and the electorate decided to give him a chance and at the same time knock down the increasingly arrogant PN a notch. My view is that labour got elected on that day only because many PN supporters had become sick of the PN’s attitude, and the new guy (Sant) gave them enough confidence to gamble on a change.
Unfortunately things didn’t work out so well, and we are again saddled with the same party entrenched in government with the same smug attitude, because for so long it has felt no real opposition.
Still, the signs are there. The majority lead of the PN has been dwindling steadily, and maybe, come next election, it will be the time to make a change, even if just for the sake of change itself. There comes a time when “better the devil you know” does not feel safe anymore. I just hope that the new devil won’t be much worse than the old one!
This phrase “for the sake of change” is really silly and dangerous. Would you change your 30-year-old house that you had built but today needs maintenance, for what seems to be a four-year-old house that you have just seen on paper, nicely painted and with a garden, that is being promoted from someone that you know has already tried to sell you a dud?
Would you take such a blind decision, just for the sake of change, knowing that it might take ages to regain your old house and in the meantime you are sleeping outside, as the nice house has turned up to be made of cardboard and nothing else?
As Melita asked, what one would be doing in 36 months, as long as this party/movement remains with the same people at its helm, a total lack of coherency, a please-everyone-as-long-as I gain power type of behaviour and a complete lack of alternative viable ideas, I know exactly where my vote will go.
The only people who are daydreaming are the ardent PN followers.
Wishy, wishy Labour would win…BIEX jaqtghu z-zigarella ta’ Smart City jew bieb il-belt jew kull proget li sar taht il-PN. Whever I think about the phrase ‘Switzerland in the Mediterranean’ I shudder. The PN have always been the only party with a vision for Malta and I will vote again and again for the PN without any hesitation whatsoever…and for the present I trust the hardworking Gonzi for his loyalty, his honesty, his dedication and ability to govern. Thank you Gonzi and keep up the good work. The power hungry only want to discourage you and to put spokes in the wheels.
[Daphne – Just to clarify matters: this is not the Edward (Fenech) who usually posts comments – obviously.]
Frighteningly true. It feels more and more like Malta is a ship without a captain. Unfortunately, as the article aptly points out, the looming mutiny at daybreak can do little to set the course right.
I say that quite sadly, as what I have really loved about Malta during my time here is its constant improvement. Seeing it nine years ago upon my first visit and seeing it now shows a world of difference, but the last few years have really stagnated. There was a nice burst of development after accession to the EU, but that did not last long.
Perhaps I’m just bitter after another flat tyre caused by the god damn roads.
If the ship without a captain has been sailing quite easily through the recent and present very rough seas, then I wonder what this ship would do in clam waters.
Come on, just because the government is not interfering in our daily life, this does not mean that it is stagnating or not doing anything.
Remember the whole lists of food items with prices shown on Xandir Malta around the time of the 8 o’clock news on a daily basis? Everyone eagerly waiting to see how the price of tuna would have gone up or down – makes me feel like following the stocks and shares.
In the past two years, I have personally helped in organising over 60 million euros worth of projects that should be finalised by end of 2011 and at the moment preparing to go in for another couple of millions.
All of these are in the field of education and science and apart from a similar amount in other higher institutions. The same goes for Malte Enterprise – apart from investing around 20 million euros in the building of the life science technical park, it has also launched a 20 million euro project to assist small enterprises in R&D and competitiveness.
Yesterday, over 450 families registered to get the government subsidy for PV installation. This government initiative was oversubscribed in less than a day, and these families will see their investment paid back in five years and then save around 2550 units yearly with a CO2 saving of 2.2 tonnes per year per family.
And these are only a few of the initiatives that this government has made in the last two years.
The real problem with the PN is one of PR – it needs to hire a good PR team so as to be able to project its true image.
Ahseb wara li kieku konna bil ParrrrrrtnerrrrrSHIP
This photo is to be titled, ‘history repeats itself’.
Anybody in his right senses knows that AD and PL are very close friends. Remember the first MEP elections and the results obtained in the Sliema district by the PN! Check the results, and I think you will come up with the same conclusion.
“The PN in government increasingly appears to be out of control, shorn of new ideas and spending a lot of time managing an internal crisis that promises to continue growing.”
The Maltese government has obviously much less to do – Malta has no currency of its own, no “central bank” (but an ECB agency), no fiscal policy, no economic policy (except for the devastating 10-year-plans of the Lisbon Agenda), no foreign affairs to speak of, no significant legislation to enact (although some fanciful dead-ends exist) – in short, nothing much except for the management of tax revenues, the infrastructure, and law and order (with imported supersonic laws.)
This is only the beginning. We are not an independent state. We form part of an emerging, centralised federation. The quicker you understand this, the better you will perceive the present and future.
X’tambih independent state, kev, jekk immexxi minn nies inkompetenti?
Ghax is-central planners supranazzjonali huma kompetenti hafna, hux hekk? U anki korruzzjoni, m’hemmx – hux hekk qed tghid? Kemm bqajtu cwiec, jahasra. Issa taraw kemm se mmorru ‘l-quddiem… bhal granc.
Le, kev, ic-cuc huwa int. Tpoggilix kliem f’halqi. Qed nghid li jekk is-supranational government huwa inkompetenti, u n-national government huwa inkompetenti, mela why worry? Dak li ma jistghux jifhmu cwiec kuntenti bhalek huwa li we’re screwed anyway.
Discuss the comparative advantages of Malta today and Malta 1980s style.
This essay is worth Nil Points.
If Labour can’t even observe regulations such as these, no wonder they are so accepting of unethical behaviour by magistrates (well, as long as they vote Labour…).
BA fines One TV for broadcasting Victor Scerri phone comments
The Broadcasting Authority has fined One TV €1,164 for transmitting a recorded telephone conversation with former PN president Victor Scerri without his permission.
Dr Scerri said the recordings were transmitted on January 25 after he was contacted by telephone by journalist Wendy Borg.
He said that he was never told that the phone call was being recorded, and in a previous phone call, just a few minutes before, he had told Ms Borg that she did not have his permission to record the conversation.
The BA said that there were ethical considerations which should have been respected by the broadcaster. The journalist had a duty to seek Dr Scerri’s agreement for the recording and broadcasting of the conversation, and in the absence of such agreement, the comments should not have been broadcast.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100216/local/ba-fines-one-tv-for-broadcasting-victor-scerri-phone-comments
I don’t think that there will be elections in 2013. Think and try to understand this phrase. See what is happening around us in this bloody earth.
[Daphne – Armageddon will get there first.]
Of course there will not be any elections in 2013 the world is going to end on the 12th of December 2012
Hsibtkom qed tghidu fuq it-terrimot ta’ Joseph!
it’s so nice seeing you so angry. you must know that you are the most hated after lenin.
After Lenin? I’d say Mintoff comes a close second. No, make that a first. Most people here don’t even know who Lenin was. And all of them vote for the Labour Party.
i know you will not publish my comments. i know you are having restless, sleepless nights. may the devil be with you all the way to hell.
As they say, you go to heaven for the scenery, hell for the company. The latter seems good for me.
But won’t the beer always be warm?
Curmi,
Do you really, in a million years, by any stretch of the imagination, think Daphne gives a friggin hoot as to whether the likes of you like her or not?
I really doubt it!
Wow daphne has statistics. Well let me give you these statistics.
1987 ? Pn rise to power with 400 million maltese liri in the coffers
1987-2009 Pn bankrupts Malta.
I think this really sums things up.
[Daphne – It’s GDP you should be looking at, sweetheart, not the funds in il-kaxxa ta’ Malta while citizens live on the breadline. I imagine Tripoli has quite a lot of lolly in its coffers. It doesn’t make much difference to ordinary Libyans, though, does it?]
Why should GDP matter if it is not going in people’s pockets, but in pockets of businessmen who created a monopoly to their advantage and a system where all the money goes into their pockets. It’s ironic that you mention Libya and Gaddafi the defacto dictator, Gonzi’s administration is resembling Gaddafi’s more and more with every day that passes.
[Daphne – Why should GDP matter? This is where I lie down and cry.]
Don’t take my answer out of context. , yes why should it matter if the GDP is getting stronger but only a handful are profiting from it and becoming richer and richer while the majority is becoming poorer. Does it matter to the average Joe? No. The average Joe only cares about the actual money is his pockets and not ‘money’ statistics written down on paper.
[Daphne – Your average Joe is always better off when GDP climbs. And that’s precisely why your average Joe is much better off now than he was back in 1985, when the vast majority of those who worked – and there were many who didn’t – took home Lm28 a week.]
Biology question: how come some people are born smarter than others?
Answer: some people are born smart because of genes that pass through generations.
Alas, the reverse is also true.
Mark C, I do not know if I should laugh or cry. Perhaps the latter, because you have a vote.
Daphne, you should explain that lolly means money, in case Mark C thinks that Gheddafi is collecting lollipops.
I have an even shorter list.
1987 – 2004 PN changes Malta from a third world country to an EU member
What was the use of having LM400 million in a moneybox when we had to cope with an obsolete Strowger telephone system, intermittent water supply, empty shop shelves, that stupid student worker scheme, hardly any students at university, end of year “State of the Union” messages proclaiming a 2 mils decrease in the price of a can of tuna?
We were the laughing stock of Europe. A policy of aggression to alienate the population: church schools, violence etc. And those LM400 million are a Mintoff “hrafa” with his fixation “biex irekken” – and then when he administered the Central Bank reserves he lost about LM90 million in a single day ghax ma kellux idea x’qieghed jaghmel. U halluna.
No political party on earth offers real solutions when in opposition and those who keep repeating ad nauseam that Labour is not offering alternative solutions or policies are the ones dreaming.
On the other hand this does not mean that we should not expect that Labour comes up with real solutions and alternative policies for the ones that are not working or are being badly implemented.
I’m an avid reader of The Economist and in every country of the world politicians most of the time do the sweet talk, however, hardly ever, there is a politician who states exactly how they will apply the policies for their country.
At election time and maybe always, politicians, are mostly doing their utmost to obtain power if they are in opposition and if in Government they do their best to protect retain their power.
I fully agree with Daphne that an early election would not be beneficial for the country although the current government is in quite a good mess at the same time, Labour needs time to beef up their policies and I expect them to come up with a very good set of real policies.
Personally, in the coming election, if it’s going to be once more a choice of choosing the best from the worse, I will not bother to vote now and ever again, I do not expect perfection or no shortcomings, but I strongly believe that we badly need to progress on many areas such as environment, progressive policies, real freedom of expression and an overall upgrade of the country in general.
I’m fed up of politicians treating us like fools and fed up of the usual rhetoric and the quality of the debates in Malta.
Again someone that thinks he is livingin a vacuum and that my decision on who to vote shall not affect him as long as he does not vote. Unbelievable for someone that is an avid reader of The Economist.
And again, it is the MPM/PL/New Labour/MLP/Socialist/Partit tal-Haddiema that has never brought it any alternative solutions when in opposition. For all its errors, the PN has always had a vision, sometimes this vision was reached (the EU) and sometimes it is still struggling to reach it (the Doctor of Your Choice).
Today I heard on the radio that Toni Abela met up with Craxi and amongst other things he said that in seven years’ time Malta will have the presidency of the EU and he’s worried because the Nationalist government is running the country in a mediocre manner and that an “everything goes” (kollox jghaddi) mentality cannot work for the EU.
I guess he thinks his leader and his friends can do a much better job given their vast experience and history of excellence.
[Daphne – Craxi has been dead for 10 years. Or do you mean Stefania Craxi?]
I think it was the Mosta Angel who met Stefania Craxi .
This article is very good except that it is not saying that Prime Minister Gonzi have lost control of his party and also his country.
[Daphne – I don’t think it is so much that the prime minister has lost control of his men as that some of his men appear to have lost control of their faculties.]
‘Your average Joe is always better off when GDP climbs’. Not the case if there is rampant abuse and corruption of the system. You just mentioned Gaddafi and Libya and that only proves how much your argument is flawed. You said that Libya is rich yet the average Libyan does not profit. Same goes with Malta, no matter how big the gdp and coffers get, if it not transferred back to the people that it is useless to the people.
[Daphne – Look up the meaning of GDP and come back. Libya has low GDP; Malta has reasonably good GDP. That’s one of the reasons why life is more comfortable in Malta than it is in Libya.]
Daphne I know what GDP and PPP mean, spare me the lessons. I also look up Malta’s GDP from time to time and I admit when it comes to investment PN fares well, the only problem is the money is not going to the people.
[Daphne – There are none so blind as those who will not see.]
hmm Lm28 in 1985..I wonder how much that would be in 2010. Then compare that to 80% minimum wage of today which is about lm65 and take in account that prices have trebled.
[Daphne – Did you read the most important bit of information I gave you, Mark? ALMOST EVERYONE WHO WORKED took home around Lm28 a week. The minimum wage was the rule, not the exception. Now it is the exception, and those who are employed on that wage do other work besides, moonlighting, simply because there is the work to be had. Prices have trebled now? No, Mark, they’ve fallen, both in real and relative terms. There was prohibitive duty on everything that was imported (and there wasn’t much to start with). people took home Lm28 a week and a washing machine with a tumbler dryer cost Lm450. People took home Lm28 a week and an ordinary jersey at Benetton – the only shop where you could buy branded imported clothes – cost Lm35. People took home Lm28 a week and the barest basics for a near-starvation diet cost Lm20 a week. Unlike you, Mark, I was an adult in those days, and so I speak from direct experience and not from hearsay.]
I used to buy a coke cola for 7 cents from a grocer. Now it’s about or almost 1 euro. So you should do your maths and not me.
[Daphne – Very infantile, Mark. It obviously makes the best of sense to have a situation where washing-machines cost Lm450 and a bottle of Coke costs 7c, rather than a situation where you can buy a washing-machine for EUR250 and a Coke for EUR1. Perhaps you would like to go back to those days to get your Coke for 7c and the rest of your life and the country in a mess. Well, I guess we all have different priorities. The only thing that cost a lot less was property – for the simple reason that people were so damned poor they couldn’t afford to go around splashing out on houses and flats, so lack of demand kept prices depressed.]
There is work to be had?…hmm please enlighten me where since I have been looking for work for 6 months now and counting. And I have qualifications yet when I look at the papers I see ETC offering 80% of the minimum wage. Pathetic. How can you still try to convince people that we are doing well when 50 thousand people, 1 out of 8 are below poverty line, we have bills which could hit the guiness world record, a branded shirt still costs lm35 in Malta but you can buy it on the net for about lm10 or less. Are people so naive as to believe the people are doing well while at the same time their pockets are empty. And don’t get me started with the property cartels, I can never afford a house unless I become a slave and hostage to the bank for the rest of my life while I see buildings going up everywhere. I will say it again Gonzi’s problems are that the cartels have taken over and sucking us dry. Property, medicine, clothing, dvd’s, food, electricity etc etc. Monopoly at it’s best or worst msomma. But I bet you will blame competition, economic recessions and tsunami’s rather than the rampant monopoly and abuse.
“A coke cost 7c”
GDP doesn’t count but the price of a cola does? Let’s put it another way.
How many bottles of cola could the average person buy each week in that magical time you mention?
Well, to the LP soft drinks are an essential item, part of the staple diet.
@Mark C
“I have been looking for work for 6 months now and counting.”
You do know there was a major international recession don’t you?
Could you enlighten us as to how Labour would have dealt with the recession better? Name just two things.
Staple diet? Tell us more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYZ3P3uBh80
A 20mm PVC conduit pipe Lm0.30 (Euro 0.70) A Grundig TV set cost Lm500 (Euro 1165), 25kg of Portland cement cost Lm1.50. A Mars bar past its sell-by date cost Lm0.25 and you had to cross Malta to get it. Water was cheap – the problem was that it rarely reached the roof-top tank.
The price of a bottle of Coke varies from one country to another and it depends on how much the people of that country can afford to pay and how many bottles they consume.
Marc C – A branded top cost Lm35 in 1985, a full 25 years ago.
I clearly remember bumping into a long-forgotten relative after having just bought one such top with my fresh pay-cheque, only to have her remark “Allajbierek, kemm ghandhom flus in-nies.” Try telling her that I had to forgo many other things to buy it (such were my priorities in those days). The funny thing about that top was that I then rarely wore it, because the only other person who had one like it – and seemingly never took it off – was a very camp male.
La Redoute I never said GDP doesn’t count. I said it doesn’t count ‘IF’ the money is not being transferred to the people. It does not count if like Libya, it is a rich country and yet the people are still poor.
[Daphne – Mark, I don’t think you understand what GDP is. So please, don’t get into this one.]
All the shows Dr. Gonzi does will not impress me one bit as long as I keep reading how many families are still suffering poverty and the number is increasing rather than decreasing.
Daphne, I think that even if we give him the following definition, Mark C would have difficulty in understanding what GDP means, but I shall still try.
The total market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a given year, equal to total consumer, investment and government spending, plus the value of exports, minus the value of imports.
And how is it that someone like Mark C cannot find a job, and a friend of mine, with a low level of education could change three jobs in three years (and all the time he was the one that moved and not got kicked out)?
@snoopy
Perhaps your friend went to talk to a ‘ministru’ while I did not. In Malta everyone knows that it’s not what you know but who you know. With money and contacts you can get away with murder in this country let alone find employment.
@ Mark
My friend is in fact a keen supporter of Joseph Muscat and hardly has contacts with ministers. His jobs were all with the private sector and he is around 57 yrs old. Though he is IT savvy, he has neither any qualifications nor a very high level of education, only a very strong will to work and does not expect the government to send him a cheque home.
I get where you’re coming from Mark. Let me see if I’m correct. (I’m not using real ratios, just an example here)
1985 – GDP was X
2010 – GDP is 3X
Therefore average Joe should be three times as rich. But you’re implying that since there are business men that “steal the money” from the average Joe, the average Joe still has a GDP of X.
If it’s this you’re implying, then you’re still making one crucial mistake. You’re assuming that there were no businessmen in 1985 who “stole money” from the average Joe, making the average Joe in 1985 get 1/3X instead.
It’s a lot simpler than that. Businessmen – and women – keep the average Joe in employment.
Johnathan what I’m saying is simple really. That yes there is money in Malta. But in the hands of the few businessmonsters not men.
just to give an example
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100217/local/security-assets-abroad-by-entities-in-malta-reach-over-10-billion
…and yet people are unemployed, people die without medication/treatment, people live in dire situations.
To answer Johnathan and la redoute
@ Johnathan
so if X is now 3X why aren’t we, and the standard of living 3 times richer. For the simply reason I mentioned. Money in the hands of the few.
@La redoute
You say Businessmen keep us employed and I say the employees keep the employer’s business going. Without workers a businessmen is nothing. So who’s right?
MarkC
Some businesses are run without employees. It’s called outsourcing. So who’s wrong?
Mark C , there are families who are on the brink of poverty , but they are not poor, and there are those who are living in relative poverty: you have a laptop, they don’t; you can afford a car, they can’t; you pay your bills on time, they don’t; you can afford a meal in a restaurant, they can’t afford a burger.
The social security safety net is still keeping families in difficulty above the poverty line. By poverty I mean that they don’t have anything to eat, no roof over their heads, cannot afford to pay for school items, for example.
@ Mark C replying to The Times link below.
And why are you assuming that these are held by a “few businessmonsters”?
Most of these are held by the financial institutions and are either held in the name of small investors that buy small allotments or else they form part of the investment portfolio of the bank, through which it pay you interest, if you had to deposit money in that bank.
Your problem is that you take everything on face value including any “news” that you read without delving deeper.
The real indicators whether people are well off or not can only be seen by looking at the numer of cars on the road (over 290,000), the number of mobile phone contracts (over 350,000), the number of people with cable or the digital service of go, the number of people that crossed to Gozo last weekend, etc.
When someone comes over and says that he has been looking for work for months and then at the same time we can see that a good number of refugees are legally working (good luck to them as if they help themselves then they deserve it), I always ask myself, how come these find work and some Maltese take months to find work?
Mark C : If, as you say you have the qualifications, take the plunge. You have all the countries in the EU to choose from or are you still pining for Svizzera fil-Mediterran?
Anthony, apart from the fact that I am unemployed and penniless? Because I love my country and find it hard to abandon my country. And please note I voted for EU not for for a Svizzera.
[Daphne – Oh come on. I’m quite sure your country won’t feel abandoned if you leave it.]
Don’t worry Daphne, after I vote against corruption and mediocrity I might take my chances abroad but not after having the last laugh against this government. If I drown then everyone will drown yes, I represent the voice of the disgruntled,unemployed, abused, forgotten, intelligent floater vote and Dr.Gonzi will learn his lesson not to treat me like a number. Then he can put all the robotic answering machines at ETC taking the piss at me and send me from one place to the other all he likes. I will have the last laugh.
“I represent the voice of the disgruntled,unemployed, abused, forgotten, intelligent floater vote and Dr.Gonzi will learn his lesson not to treat me like a number.”
Intelligent?
Of course you (and I) should be treated like numbers by any government – the other option is preferential treatment.
When Iceland goes bust we blame the country for not being in the Eurozone. When Greece, Portugal and Spain go bust we will probably blame it on the Malta Labour Party.
I blame it on ‘the money no problem’ syndrome.
Try managing your household budget the way Malta has managed its finances over the years.
To cap it all, we rarely get value for money spent (Mater Dei). In 1936 the Americans completed the Hoover Dam in five years, two years ahead of schedule, and under budget. We need an Elwood Mead for our public projects.
well you people are all wishfull thinking,
I may be not as perfact as you all in my grammer but for sure i know that you are a bunch of people full of venim.
Joseph Muscat is well prepared to run our country that we are challenging your politicaly corrupt GONZIPN li milli ghedna ma hemm xejn to call a general election today before tomorrow.
AS for sure he does not have anymore the majotity one goverment should have the first lesson you took it in the EU parlamentary elections last JUNE 2008 ,35,000 and in this upcoming election who knows as even PN supporters are leaving your party lol.
“Joseph Muscat is well prepared to run our country ”
Says who? Tony-can’t-spell-to-save-my-life?
Joseph Muscat has never explained how he plans to run the country, what policies he’ll adopt, what solutions he can offer, or how he’s going to pay for it all, excpet for that wild promise to ignore a court decision that has not yet been taken and pay back VAT on car purchases
Here’s the thing: Joseph WANTS to run the country but he’ll figure out how once he gets there.
Haven’t we been there before?
You are just wasting your time. He is a hopeless and lost case.
Maybe if Joseph becomes PM then Tony might always find a place as the personal |elephant keeper for Anglu Farrugia.
And please. Learn how to spell. You’ll find it’s a useful way of making sure you’re not taken for a fool or, as you’d put it, ‘full of venim’.
@David Buttigieg
I’m not looking for preferential treatment but a social conscience which this government lacks.
In other words?
@David Buttigieg
I would have to flood Daphne’s blog to explain what I mean. In short by doing what he says. He says employment is his main priority and then uses such tactics to either dishearten you from seeking/jobs help from ETC (sending you from hal far to valletta to tax office eccetera-just imagine 6 months running around like an idiot becuase the employer did not pay his part of NI) or by sending 6 vacancies of low quailty underpaid jobs a day, which if you don’t apply to a single one of them, you are remmoved from registry and lose the few miserable euros about 100 a month which you are supposedly entitled to. I explained all of this to ETC and they understood my point and hopefully there will be results. You don’t just type clerk, print all and send all (biex tehles bil-malti) Msomma that’s just employment. Then there’s healtcare. Another issue which does not affect me personally but still I feel it is unfair if after a lifetime working and contributing to the economy you are made to pay for healthcare. I hope at least only those who can afford to pay will be forced to pay if it comes in force.
[Daphne – This correspondence is now closed. It’s getting very tiresome.]
To be fair with ETC I would like to add that I’ve been contacted by them since yesterday. It seems your blog is the best channel for someone to be heard.
[Daphne – How would they know who you are if you don’t use your name?]
X’ passata fih dan Toni – ha tgerrxuh imma u ma jersaqx l-hawn iktar. Halluh jikteb kif irid. Jien l-ewwel ma’ nfittx il-kumment tieghu, u kburijja nghid li anki “fen” tieghu ukoll. Forza Toni, jien mieghek hi. U halli lil kulhadd jghid li jrid, qatta ghajjurin u mimlijja “venim”.
I am going to make sure I will never forget all the arrogance, corruption and betrayals come election time. Anybody is better than what we are getting. Dr Franco Debono is not childish. Daphne, with all respect to you you do not know how we in the south are being treated when it comes to the environment.
Mintoff won nearly 4oo million Malta Lira for a chimney in front of his residence. What will the people of B’bugia get when they get cranes into their bedrooms and roofs?
Come to Pretty AWFUL Bay and see a block towering over all the others but then the owner is the other government in Malta. I voted EU thinking these ‘hnizrijiet ‘ will stop. Whither Malta? Thank you, back-benchers for speaking out. You are down with the people not drunk with power.
Snoopy, actually I do not live in a vacuum. It makes a difference obviously, but in my view, neither the MLP or PN want to tackle major issues that need to be tackled.
I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.
My interpretation of the picture: the dolphins among the sharks.