The making of Chairman Muscat and The People’s Democratic Republic of JosephMuscatDotCom
This is a guest post, which means it has been written by somebody other than Daphne Caruana Galizia.
There is something really sinister going on. Muscat’s steady eradication or undermining of all significant internal structures of the Labour Party and all external traces of its existence hasn’t led to any public outrage.
Maybe some think this is an insignificant matter, or one that concerns the Labour Party alone. I think we should be seriously worried.
Muscat’s removal of structures designed to keep a party’s leadership in check; his disregard for protocol and correct form; his wife’s filling in for him in what is a constitutional (as opposed to personal) role; his summary execution of anyone deemed to be inconvenient; his disregard for democratic structures and processes within the organisation he leads and his promise to do likewise with the country at large; his belief that history can be rewritten, that the media should be muzzled and that legitimate questions can be brushed aside or ignored, are not new.
History’s inglorious parade of dictators have all trodden the same path, usually over the rights of those who cheered them into power.
Muscat has compensated for the removal of any obstacle to his rise to power by invoking populist sentiment. With him as Prime Minister, he tells us time and again, Malta will belong to all of us and we will have opportunities that are now denied us. He fails to spell out what opportunities we will have that we do not already enjoy, or how they will be delivered and financed.
Even as he does this and refuses to answer questions because he thinks he owes us no explanations, there are many who applaud. Perhaps they think the guillotine will always fall on someone else’s neck.
Muscat has moved on from the micro-concerns of household utility bills to sweeping populist appeals. Under his rule, he promises us, it is ‘the people’, who will be in charge. He will set up councils, committees and conventions. It is the people, and not politicians, who shall have their say as to how Malta should be governed.
All of us will be able to participate in the debate about everything from rewriting Malta’s constitution to drafting new laws on civil unions to deciding how the press should be regulated.
Excuse me? I thought we lived in a representative democracy with a parliamentary system and that white papers are issued for public debate before legislation is changed or introduced, and that we are free and able to petition and lobby our parliamentary representatives, already.
Muscat is not being disingenuous. He clearly sees parliament as an obstacle and a waste of time other than to provide him with a platform for grandstanding as Leader of the Opposition. When was the last time we heard him mention parliament as a functioning institution rather than as an architectural project that must be ridiculed and reviled?
He speaks as though our parliamentary system does not exist, as though direct democracy is feasible and imminent. The more ignorant among Muscat’s followers, across all socio-economic groups, may be thrilled. Anyone with a bit of intelligence should be terrified.
A Prime Minister who ignores democratic structures and processes is not a democrat. He is a dictator. Gaddafi’s Great Jamahariya – the state of the masses – was officially run by people’s committees, yet no one could act without the approval of the Supreme Leader.
Take Muscat’s latest pronouncement from his portaloo podium, for instance. The Broadcasting Authority, Muscat says, will be staffed by partisan appointees, if The People so decide. Those appointees will, of course, act in the name of The People when deciding whether to extend the authority’s remit to cover the press and, consequently, what the media can or cannot report.
The unspoken statement is that we will not be able to object to any decision taken because every one of those decisions will have been taken by The People. And how will The People decide who sits on the Broadcasting Authority to oversee what we are allowed to hear?
Muscat will set up a People’s Council to decide on the matter. Perhaps the model he has in mind is of the sort which elected a deputy leader and which Muscat disregarded when forcing that deputy out.
There were earlier examples which went unremarked at the time and which have been resurrected in the current campaign. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority will work for The People and all bureaucracy will be removed, Muscat had promised and now has plastered the islands with billboards to remind us.
Ditto our law courts. Didn’t Muscat say that whatever the courts decide on the matter of VAT on imported cars, he will pay out refunds to all claimants? So the man who wants to be Prime Minister has already laid his cards on the table. When in power, he will overrides institutional autonomy and the separation of powers, and ignore court judgements.
Muscat sounds eerily like Mintoff or, worse, his party’s one-time paymaster Muammar Gaddafi, or Mintoff’s friends Chairman Mao and his People’s Democratic Republic.
Like Gaddafi, Mao knew that the key to success was to appeal to people’s inherent vanity while tapping into disaffection. Mao knew that it was easier to manipulate the young and inexperienced. So he set up People’s Committees, providing the disaffected with a sense of importance and enough power to channel their resentments, but not enough power to overthrow him or his system.
And he created the Red Guards, coupling the power of the mob with the fecklessness and self-centredness of adolescence and youth, harnessing the young to his cause and using them to wipe out all traces and memory of what had existed until then.
The Labour Party didn’t set up a corps of Red Guards. It can’t, because the party no longer exists, having been usurped by JosephMuscatDotCom. Instead of Red Guards, Joseph Muscat has bestowed his blessing on an amorphous group called “I’m In”. It has no particular identity but it functions as a banner for identity-seekers to rally behind, and it leads them towards the glorious reign of JosephMuscatDotCom, in which People’s Committees, Conventions, and Councils will debate and discuss the running of the country, but decisions will be taken only by The Great Leader.
History, according to dictators, begins with themselves, but the history of every dictator begins with the public’s adulation and a reluctance to call their bluff.
We have seen and heard many things in Muscat’s five-year-long campaign to become Prime Minister. What we have yet to see and hear is proof that he is fit for the post.
This is supposed to be a democracy, with all the relevant checks and balances, yet Muscat gets away with political murder while he’s still in opposition. Can we expect him to be any different when he becomes Prime Minister?
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What lies ahead is so terribly frightening. Joseph Muscat the dictator in waiting — and very few seem to be aware that Malta’s on the brink of a disaster.
Thanks to the person who wrote this guest post because he put this so clearly in perspective.
[Daphne – She.]
So come March 9th, we find ourselves alone in a booth with a ballot paper, seeing not JosephMuscatDotCom but instead Partit Laburista, and are instantly jolted to our senses and vote PN in the nick of time.
What larks.
‘He fails to spell out what opportunities we will have that we do not already enjoy…’
I watch the slide shows on ONE outlining each proposal related to a particular subject.
One’s forgiven for mistaking it for Net TV, most of these lifted from the PN’s program. Those that aren’t would have been implemented already.
I can understand Joe Cassar’s barely veiled disgust.
His latest buzzword, ‘over and above’ when it comes to spending is even more gratuitious. Gone is his pledge not to turn the campaign into an auction.
The similiarities between his tactics and Berlusconi’s have increased. What that one did, was to create major conflicts of interest, surround himself with those who had vested interests and see to it that the media was controlled.
What Berlusconi never did however, was to align himself both left and right. He went for the Lega’s xenophobic populism drawing in the lower income bracket.
Joseph says his is a moviment for haddiema u min ihaddem. Read contractors.
Does anyone think he’ll consider foreigners on a work permit to be worthy of his benevolent talk?
And where that leaves nationals, he’ll shirk off saying he can’t disrupt their employers’ interests.
His movement is all about making the gutter standards of this country the norm. Taghna lkoll.
What he never mentions is the basic rule to fight corruption and impose transparency; competitive edge over others.
He won’t have it, not when he gets to have a say, his dream you see. That’s why they queue.
Well and truly expounded.
History repeats itself – and unfortunately for Malta, it may soon do just that, with Mintoff, KMB, Chairman Mao, Kim Il Sung and Gaddafi (not forgetting Hitler) all mixed into one smallish creature known as Joseph il-ginger.
Regarding the penultimate paragraph. We have definitely seen – at least for those of us who have eyes, ears and functioning braincells – that the creature we are talking about IS NOT fit for the post of Prime Minister. And woe betide Malta and all of us if he becomes one.
Maybe he be called Mao Joe Muk
Very well said.
Malta is still a young country with no real democratic tradition of its own.
Unlike other countries that have always been the governing country and not the colony, we have been given a system that did not come from the Maltese, and therefore is not Maltese in itself, which makes it harder for many to navigate and understand and why so many aspects of it seem stupid and inconvenient, oppressive and redundant to so many.
Daphne, I believe you have mentioned this many times before.
But instead of taking things step by step and discovering our own political culture and protecting what we have now, we are constantly bullied by those who see the current system as oppressive because they don’t understand it, and worse still, some are constantly trying to undermine it to bring back the power vacuum that once existed in order to fill it themselves and become the ruling Monarch.
Muscat’s behaviour over the past few years has been just that: weaken the will of the majority.
We must defend what we have now from these people.
That is why it is so important that we hold the PL to account on its past. It has nothing to do with being brainwashed. Or if any brainwashing exists, it is purely out of respect towards freedom and democracy.
By “forgetting the past” we are enabling the PL, and in fact any other politician to come, to be as brutal and as divisive because there will be no consequences.
Now most PL diehards will say “Then why didn’t Eddie Fenech Adami bring those people to justice?” to which I reply ” I agree. He damn well should have. But the situation back then was so delicate that any form of trial would have fanned the flames which had just started to die down.”
However I feel that we have missed the lesson.
The whole “do not judge lest you be judged” attitude does not serve democracy. We don’t turn a blind eye when someone commits murder, rape, theft or abuse. Why then do we brush off political violence?
I will never vote PL until they bow to the values of democracy, and in doing so get rid of all their candidates that were part of that government. They don’t have much time left. Soon those people will just retire and leave on their own accord. Which means that the PL will still think it can just walk over everyone and never pay the price.
We are the pioneers of democracy and the democratic tradition in Malta. We must protect it.
Excellent article. I am already humming “Don’t cry for me, Argentina”.
This reminds me of the Kumitati tal-Girien, when these were used to check on the neighbours’ movements.
And then there were Labour PM KMB’s il-qrati tal-poplu.
I have a feeling that the Socialist People’s Second Republic of the Jamahirija of the Muviment will be borne as a result of an act of sodomy of the people of Malta. Might as well call it the Sodom Republic.
Pasolini, eh?
He’d be horrified at Muscat’s idea of society.
There is a silver lining.
An opposition led by Simon.
If Gonzi wins again, whither PL then?
The People’s Republic of Muscat.
Finally. Little Joey’s TRUE electoral plan is unveiled.
Surpisingly, by a true Maltese patriot. Excellent piece.
Everything is falling into place. So that’s why rumours have been rife that:
1. the new University rector under a new Labour government will be no one other than the infamous HMS Brazen Alex Sceberras Trigona
2. Joseph does not only want to win but he wants to win by the largest possible majority; he has expressed with close aides that anything under 25,000 votes plus would not be acceptable to him.
The only hope as regards the media is the Internet. At least there’s no need to base radio stations in Sicily like in the early ’80s.
Those famous 26,000 likes could very well turn around to bite Joseph Muscat once the people realize they’ve been had.
The above is shocking yet very true. Is this what we shall be in for in a few weeks’ time? Will the night of the 10/11 March see his so-called adulators marching on our streets screaming “Malta Kollha Taghna” (Malta is ALL ours – i.e. theirs)? What will the then “national” broadcaster be broadcasting? Most of us still vividly remember the “Bongu Malta Socjalista”. Will that be the “change of direction” that Joseph Muscat harps so much about?
“Malta Taghna Lkoll” (Malta belongs to all of us) is his battlecry. If Malta does not even belong to Anglu Farrugia and to Adrian Vassallo, how does josephmuscat.com expect us to believe him that it will belong to all of us?
The loyal PL subject who up to a few weeks back was his second-in-command has accused him of “Political Murder” amongst other very strong accusations to which Joseph Muscat’s stock reply was “No Comment”.
The writing is on the wall. Although it is already late in the day, the situation could be reversed. After the 9 March, the reverse gear will not be functioning.
Someone should stick a microphone in Muscat’s face and ask him what parliament’s role will be if all decisions are to be taken by people’s committees.
Either he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, or he does and cynically leads his followers up a blind alley. I don’t know which is more frightening.
What Joseph Muscat thinks of media control:
The Chinese campaign on Tibet has taken an interesting development. The Chinese are now adopting a media campaign to neutralise another media campaign. In blogs, chat-rooms, bulletin boards and by SMS, Chinese citizens are assaulting the international press, exposing mistakes and depicting what they perceive as foreign manipulation. One hopes that the matter will not lie to rest once the Olympic Games are over.
– Joseph Muscat, The Times (Monday, 31 March 2008)
One of his more chilling statements.
This is one calculating individual.
I haven’t been out quite a while, what I have been told is that people who went by his spiel have turned silent lately.
What an excellent piece – you’ve got competition, Daphne.
Prosit to the writer.
The above reminds me of ‘il-kumitati tal-girien’ during the Labour governments. These people were assigned by the Labour administration to spy on their neighbours to see if they vote PN or MLP so that in those days only MLP voters got all they wanted. like telephones. colour TVs, jobs, transfers, overtime at their place of work, etc and PN voters got nothing.
At that time was it ‘Malta taghna lkoll?’
This actually now explains a comment that was passed by a young socialist, currently contesting the local council elections under the Labour banner.
He passed a comment that countries sometimes need dictators. I will add that he is a young university qualified accountant, working in the financial services industry whose clients are all European.
We did debate this, but unfortunately I was unable to persuade him that there are no positives to dictators and that it’s not countries that need dictators, but people who do not have the ability to think for themselves.
This explains his comment. I see the brainwashing in Mile End has started.
How can Joseph Muscat guarantee a Second Republic when any changes need a two thirds majority?
“Qed inweghdukhom it-twaqqif tat-Tieni Repubblika u se nigi nghidilkom – ghamilniha.”
Yes, if that isn’t puzzling.
Not to mention that constitutional reforms aren’t electoral campaign material.
“Muscat reveals that Louis Grech will be given the responsibility to see that the electoral manifesto is carried out throughout the five years. “I am convinced that with his experience in management, Louis is the best person to see that the proposals are carried out; to coordinate the work of the different ministries in different national projects and to see that everything is done within budget and on time.” (MaltaToday)
Louis Grech has first to be elected to be given a role.
There is going to be a myriad of new committees, posts and chairmanships. Have they calculated the cost? it will surely be more than the five hundred euro weekly which they have spoken so much against.
A spare prime minister, jekk Joseph jasal tard, jkunu jistghu jibdew minghajru.
The Labour Party no longer exists. It is now the Moviment or JosephMuscat.com. It is all centred around Joseph Muscat. He is the party.
Why can’t real socialists realise this? This Moviment is no longer their party.
Mintoff had his bokkla, and Muscat has the roving podium and that damn piece of plexi-crap floating in the air behind him wherever he goes.
It’s all so creepy. It’s so very odd. Awful, disgusting, and somehow mesmerizing.
What an excellent, eye-opening article. Our only consolation is that Malta is a member of the EU but let’s hope that Joseph will not also promise an in-out referendum to boot.
Hope is not enough. Britain was one of the founding members of the coal and steel union, a forerunner to today’s EU. and now see what happened.
Little Joey is wallowing in a sewer full of Mintoffian shit.
I have been confused as to why Muscat appears to have won over a substantial segment of the new voters. Now I can see.
Your analysis is perceptive and frightening.
Already I have sacrificed my youth under Mintoff. Now it raises its head again, in ever worse form.
Our youth today know only about enjoying themselves. To them this is just another project. God help us.
Monty Python members to reunite for sci-fi comedy ‘Absolutely Anything’ after having heard Joseph Muscat just promise it.
Not sure if you already noticed but it is curious to note that the domain josephmuscat.com (to which the defunct labour party’s URL is now pointing to) is not even owned by the Labour Party but by Joseph Muscat himself.
It might be a tiny detail but it surely confirms what you stated in your article and speaks miles about how this guy and his close friends have reduced the labour party (with it’s new logo, revised statute, and a CEO instead of General Secretary) to a support structure they necessarily but uncomfortably need to ride on to take control of the country.
Domain name: JOSEPHMUSCAT.COM
Administrative Contact:
Cardona, Jonathan [email protected]
Melodija
Zebbug, ZBG02
MT
+356.79717171
Technical Contact:
Cardona, Jonathan [email protected]
Melodija
Zebbug, ZBG02
MT
+356.79717171
Registration Service Provider:
Misk.com Support, [email protected]
https://www.misk.com/
This company may be contacted for domain login/passwords,
DNS/Nameserver changes, and general domain support questions.
Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC.
Record last updated on 28-Apr-2012.
Record expires on 27-May-2015.
Record created on 27-May-2003.
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Domain servers in listed order:
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Very Interesting read Daphne, but who wrote it?
With hindsight – but just in time before the 9 March elections – Joseph Muscat’s most dangerous political statement was when he said that the time of political parties is over.
The elimination of opposition by abolishig political parties has always been one of the early steps taken by the great dictators Think of Hitler, Mugabe and Gaddafi as a few examples.
In the political model where the Movement of the People leads the country, the political parties are seen as a danger – enemies of the people. Because they criticise the system and expose its corruption and incompetence.
In the Movement system, those in power cannot be held accountable, because they are not coming from one of the parties, but from the party. And the Movement becomes the government.
And because the Movement is the People, then it must be protected at all costs – at the expense of fundamental human rights.
It is the way they lead in North Korea and China, for instance.
Maybe this is what Joseph Muscat has in mind when he says that he will change the Constitution and create the Second Republic.
When things go wrong, it is human nature to blame ‘somebody else’.
If Joseph becomes PM and with him his obvious dictatorial powers, the ‘somebody else’ will be you and me and nobody else.
We are at a crossroads again as invariably we always are as long as some form of a Labour Party or ‘Moviment’, camouflaged as they are, still exist.
Yes, the sun still rises the day after they climb the steps of Castille, but it will be brighter for the few and covered by black clouds for the many who need sunshine the most.
The Maltese saying: “Ahseb hazin biex it-tajjeb ma jonqosx” can never be truer than the lead to the March 9 election.
One look at the Muscat Labour Party as aptly described by the contributor of the article, should strike fear in many a heart and especially for those who feel betrayed by the Nationalist Party because they were not given ‘special considerations’, plainly described as ‘favours,’ while they were in government.
This clearly demonstrates how the practices of the past are hard to erase and the expectation from those in power still is that they should be doling out favours to their supporters but not to ‘the others’.
Some within the NP realm are still stuck there as well and unfortunately the key to another NP victory is firmly clasped by their hands!
Tal-biza!