Labour hatch a Cunning Plan to net new members and pay for their bargain-priced EUR1,000 logo
I’ll be sorry if Labour become fit for purpose (though I’ll be glad for the sake of us all) because so far they’ve given me a lot to laugh at. Well, at least I can laugh about their hashes and amateurism and let’s cobble things together approach when they’re in Opposition. It will be a lot less funny when they’re in government.
Nobody laughed at the mistakes of the 1996-1998 Labour government. It was a bleeding nightmare, a 22-month roller-coaster ride through chaos.
Anyway, the latest fun comes with the party’s thinly disguised Cunning Plan to drive up membership while covering the cost of their EUR1,000 prize money and bringing in a bit of extra cash, to help pay the electricity bill or the September salaries of their Maltastar ace team.
They have short-listed three designs for their new emblem and have asked party members to vote for one.
“Party and non-party members are being asked to choose between the three emblems under letter A, B and C,” Maltastar tells its readers, but then fails to mark the designs with the appropriate letter (see image here), so that we are left in the dark as to which is A, which is B and which is C.
And what, pray tell, is a NON-PARTY MEMBER? Somebody who is a member of something else – the Union Club, perhaps? Oh, I get it, they think that ‘party and non-party members’ means the same thing as ‘Labour Party members and others’, or if they wish to put it more simply still, ‘everyone’.
But here’s the best bit. Only party members are eligible to vote, because Joseph Muscat announced some months ago that the design would be chosen by the party and not by popular vote. Party members are permitted to vote only by mobile phone text message – kemm sirna nies taht EFA u gONziPN, eh? – and EACH TEXT MESSAGE WILL COST THE SENDER EUR1.16.
That should go down well with the qammelin party members who spend their lives complaining about two cents’ increase in the price of a loaf of bread.
How do they feel now that even their political party is ripping them off by charging them in return for giving them the privilege of voting for the party emblem?
You just have to laugh.
Ah, but there’s more. Now here’s the Really Cunning Part of the Very Cunning Plan. If you’re not a Labour Party member (or as Maltastar puts it, a ‘non-party member’), you can vote too.
Isn’t that against the rules, I hear you ask?
No, because voting will automatically make you a member of the Labour Party and for that privilege your SMS vote will cost you EUR7.
It’s amazing, isn’t it?
Perhaps I’m living in the Stone Age, but I thought that when you signed up for membership of clubs, associations and – more so – political parties you actually have to SIGN something and before you sign it, you read the terms and conditions of membership.
Send a text message and become a member of the Labour Party? I don’t think so. You have to be a right bunch of charlatans to come up with something like that.
There’s going to be a whole host of people who’ll vote without having read the small-print that tells them voting will make them a member of the Labour Party. Or that the vote will cost them EUR7.
But they won’t know this if they only read the Labour Party press. I got the information this afternoon from timesofmalta.com. I immediately flipped over to Maltastar and this was all I got:
Members can vote for the design on 50616119 submitting their ID card number and the letter assigned to their favourite design. Non-members vote on 50618913 also submitting their ID card and the letter of their chosen design. Non-members voting will become members automatically upon voting. Voting remains open till October 10.
See? No mention of money ANYWHERE, though they do tell you that voting will make you a member if you are not one already. When Maltastar doesn’t mention something new that is part of Labour policy or strategy, you can take it as read that there have been terrible screaming rows about it and that the people who control the Labour media think that it is a Jolly Bad Idea.
They don’t think it’s a good idea to charge people money to let them vote. And they’re right.
But here’s the catch. The Labour media have to tell people that voting for the Labour emblem is not free of charge, because if they don’t and those people get charged anyway, there’s going to hell to pay.
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Is it only me, or do you also think that the 1st and 3rd (that makes them A and C, I guess) would not look out of place stuck on some tropical fruit at the market?
[Daphne – Funny you should mention that. I’ve just received an invitation to an exhibition of orange (the fruit) wrappers at the Taschen shop in London.]
It seems like a variation of the Vodafone logo.
That doesn’t really leave them with much choice if they want to attract new voters, does it? – Vote ‘A’ or ‘C’ for the fruitcakes, or vote ‘B’ which – shudder – is far too reminiscent of Old Labour.
Incidentally, I used to collect orange wrappers when I was a kid – had some two hundred. I think I threw them away a few years ago; never thought they were worth an exhibition.
So much for Data Protection. I’d love to know how this plan will work in practice though – what filters are going to be employed to ensure that members are charged the lesser fee, whereas non-members are charged the EUR7the minute their SMS goes through?
[Daphne – There are two different numbers to call, one for members and one for ‘non-party members’. These are Labour’s fearsome powers of reason at work. They tell you that only members can vote, but then give you a number to vote on if you’re not a member, which means that at the point of voting you are not actually a member and so the party has broken its own arbitrary voting rules. But then, they’ve never been strong on free and fair votes.]
Daphne…ma’ nafx kif ma’ taqlax ghonqok dejjem thares lejn l-istess direzzjoni (i.e. il-Labour). Ma’ tigikx f’mohhok kultant sabiex isserrah ftit ghonqok u ddawwru lejn in-naha tan-Nazzjonalisti?
Jekk iddawwru dakinhar li jkollhom xi maratona fuq it-TV fuq in-NET, tkun taf min miz-zewg partiti huwa “charlatan”!
Then, on 1 January 2011, the euro 7 new members will receive an invoice for a new full year subscription, at the full rate.
The full rate is actually only five euros. Go to http://www.mlp.org.mt and you’ll see.
This makes things worse. Euro 7 less euro 1.16 (member’s cost of voting) = euro 5.84. Now, that is actually already a cheat if the annual rate is euro 5. But then, if another billing is made on 1 Jan, then the euro 5.84 would have lasted for only about 3 months. There is more those communication experts at Mile End need to tell the “non-party members.”
I quite like the second one.
The first is indiscernible while the third one looks a bit too cocoon-like for my taste.
The 2nd one (B?) is too reminiscent of old Labour. They’re all bloody awful, even if I try to be subjective.
The one in the middle will win. You’ll see. It’s basic psychology to place in the middle the one you want people to choose.
They haven’t realised that 50% of mobile SIM cards are not registered with their service provider, hence they’d have no clue who on earth is voting, let alone who the new members are.
[Daphne – You have to send in your ID card number, then they’ll check it against the data base they claim not to have.]
All political parties have the latest electoral register, prior to a general election people can enter their ID number to check if they’re on it.
Both PL and PN offer this service to the general public on their website. I’m sure you know that next to your ID there is your name and address. How can they claim they haven’t such data base.
Personally I don’t give a damn what their party’s emblem will look like, so I won’t bother voting, if you’re interested just pay them and become a member.
[Daphne – Fik hobz ukoll, Grace. Se jaghmlu flus tal-Labour minn fuq dahar il-qamel li ghandkom …kemm marru zmerc James Piscopo u Lydia Abela, jahasra.]
Jien m’iniex membru tal PL, int tahseb li kulhadd fanatiku wara xi partit jew iehor; naha kollox tajjeb u naha kollox hazin? Biex tkun oggettiv trid tnehhi l-pregudizji u tersaq daqsxejn lura. L-emblemi tal-partiti jew kemm hi helwa Kate jew Michelle jien ma jaghmlux bija.
Ghidli qamila kemm trid jien il-partiti ma johdux flus minn ghandi, minn naha l-ohra ma nistenna ebda pjaciir jew preferenzi, zghar jew kbar minghand min ikun fil-gvern.
The first logo bears a marked resemblance to the A.S. Bari cock(erel).
The third is like a Communist-era logo for an ice-cream shop.
The second is a little complex, but I guess it makes up for the simpletons behind it.
The first looks like an artist’s impression of smoke issuing from a factory chimney, whilst the third looks like a strawberry-swirl ice-cream cone.
Dan hargulu il-morliti biex faqqas logo li tqanzhu ghalija kemm Alla halaq nies minn floku. U biex wasal hawn ha sentejn.
Mela ara x’gej issa meta jrid jipprokreja u iwelled il-manifest. Ommi ma, l-anqas irrid nahseb.
Pero, insomma, kif turi l-iskema tal-votazzjoni msemmija hawn fuq, sa kemm nikkoncentraw fuq il ‘money first’, il-manifest jista jibqa jistenna.
OK, so who’s the Baldrick?
Who’s Baldrick? They’re the Baldrick Party. They’re ALL Baldrick.
http://www.mlp.org.mt/content.aspx?cnt=content&p=7
Easy. You can vote and become a member for 6.16 euros. Heqq, 84 cents, flixkun birra ije!
What happens if you are a non-party member who texts on the cheap number or vice versa? Oh don’t worry about it – you’re screwed if you waste money to vote anyway; but hey, bet they will make a lot more than the prize money. Ghallimna il-perit!
Given that A is the one on the extreme left, I’d vote for it. It looks like Humpfree, the family guinea pig.
If “the changes in the party’s emblem will be representing the change which Joseph Muscat and Labour are bringing about in the party and the country”, then why does the video in this link http://www.maltastar.com/pages/r1/ms10dart.asp?a=12008 show all the terrible people (Mintoff, Mifsud Bonnici etc) many would rather forget?
Images of those people only serve to put people off the party more. Then again, that’s a good thing.
Maybe if they want the floaters to forget any association with old Labour, they should have opted for a softer colour … http://www.pixmac.com/picture/cono+gelato/000050006921 . It would have been more in keeping with the colour used during their last failed electoral campaign.
€7 ? Mela issa il-poplu mhux qieghed gharrkubbtejh bil-guh?
B’ seven euros tista tmur tiekol pizza minflok stejk.
The Maltastar team can’t get one right, can they. In any event they want to make a few bob out of the new emblem and if it works out for them they might have a new competition for Christmas. Times are hard at HQ.
Honestly who would pay EUR1000 for Pacman on the right.
Jien ghalxejn nikkummenta, ghax gejt ittimbrat bhala Nazzjonalist (li minhiex) allura kull ma nghid huwa “hdura”.
Imma dawn huma LETTERHEADS, mhux logos ta’ partit – specjalment l-uzu tal-kulur griz ghall-font, disinjat biex ikun subtle and slick. Design C (on the right, insomma) sahansitra juza fade-out effect.
Dan il-logo jaghti messagg li huwa: Jien slick. U daqshekk.
Kien jaghmel sens ghal xi genna tal-art bhall-Isvezja jew il-Finlandja, fejn il-partiti huma kollha “middle of the road” u l-politika hija kalma u razzjonali, u kollox huwa griz.
Imma font griz f’Malta? U slick? Bil-folla tkanta Viva l-Lejber?
Qisek tara dik l-eleganza impekkabbli tal-logo ta’ Chanel, imbaghad issib li hija ditta tal-potato crisps.
The middle logo is probably the most appropriate for the PL as it is reminiscent of the old Conservative Party emblem.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/210000/images/_213917_torch_150.jpg
It would be even more appropriate if, beneath the flames, they replace the ice-cream cone with the Progress Press building.
I hope you don’t mind, Daphne, but I just spent 7 euro texting your ID card number to the Labour Party. So now you’re now officially a member of the PL, and by the way, you voted for logo B.
Wait for the press release – first Marisa, now Daphne.
Has anyone had sight or sound of Marisa?
Heard she’s busy, laughing all the way to the bank, come every payday.
Text away lads, let the money roll in.
Just sent Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s ID no. n the ‘non-party members’ number. Imagine the excitement at Hamrun: ‘Gie maghna fl-ahhar! Waqqajna l-gvern ta’ GonziPN.’
All logos are leaning to the right. Signs of times to come?
Maybe the “wind of change” is blowing from the left.
Comment from timesofmalta.com’s comments board:
‘A Vella(16 hours, 50 minutes ago)jien l-ebda wahda ma togobni..u ghadni ma nistax nifhem ghaliex dal plejtu kollhu fuq l-arma. Seta facilment giet irrangatha li ghandna ghaz-zminijiet tal-llum. L-appell tieghi lil-leader hi biex jikkunsidra dan il-pass. Zgur li ser jibqa jkollna nies li jxejjru l-arma t’issa u allura ser ikollha konfuzjoni shiha ta’ armi !’
I particularly like the ‘konfuzjoni shiha ta’ armi’ at the end.
And thinking that Labour supporters are still trying to contend with the much ‘disgraced’ EU flag.
“Liema bandiera niehdu ghall-meeting Mjer, il-gdida, l-imqatta, tal-Ewrupa jew ta’ Multa?”
A Vella got a reply, incidentally:
‘A Vella ….Naqbel mieghek mija fil mija. Jien ilni inxejjer l-istess bandiera mis sittinijiet, u minhiex ser inxejjer l-ebda bandiera ohra ghax dik kien ixejjira missieri. Min irid jifimni.’
Kif tista ma ccempilx
My God, is this the best that they can come up with? Two strawberry ice-cream cones – dik vizjoni gdida.
I’ve just realised what the right-hand logo reminds me of: Signal toothpaste.
http://www.wpimg.com/pk/column/toothpaste_column.jpg
Daphne, I cannot see how Malta Labour Party becomes Partit Laburista in Maltese. I can understand the logic behind Nationalist Party being Partit Nazzjonalista.
I think that MLP should have been Il-Partit Malti tax-Xoghol. Where did Laburista come from?
[Daphne – Good point. Maybe they think Labour is a name rather than just another word for work.]
Ahh, but if they start calling themselves Partit tal-Haddiema that will bring back bad memories.