Agence France Presse failed to identify Mrs Michelle Muscat’s husband, Joseph

Published: December 10, 2013 at 3:35pm

The Daily Mail is running an interesting piece right now: a collation of photographs from different international news agencies, at and around Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in South Africa.

It includes an AFP photograph of three men seated in a row, but the AFP caption identifies only John Major and Nick Clegg, and The Daily Mail hasn’t had much luck either with identifying the turd – apologies, third. Being Maltese I lost my ‘th’ there for a moment.

It’s fascinating to see that Muscat has found himself so short of small-talk while sitting there waiting for the service to being that he has resorted to that awkward device of scrutinising the programme. Be thankful for small mercies: at least it isn’t his phone.

He could always have broken the obviously very cold ice by turning to the British deputy prime minister and saying, “I hear there was a good story on the Financial Times front page this morning about how you’re under pressure to object to my government’s plans to sell EU passports. And by the way, where’s David Cameron? I’d much rather be sitting hip to hip with him.”

Even energy ministers (Malaysia) and foreign ministers (Czech Republic, El Salvador, Iran, Nepal, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Uruguay) made it to the list of those who were identified by the press agencies and The Daily Mail, but it looks like Muscat needs to wear one of those Paddington Bear tags that our mothers used to safety-pin to our chests on the first day of kindergarten: ‘My name is Joseph Muscat and I am the prime minister of Malta.’

memorial service




33 Comments Comment

  1. H.P. Baxxter says:

    Look at that chin, for heaven’s sake. This man is the love child of Lucifer and Mussolini.

  2. myname says:

    Poor chap, he’s not even listed in the list of dignitaries at the bottom of the article.

  3. Fanny says:

    If you scroll down to the bottom of the article there is a list of foreign dignitaries attending. No Joseph Muscat mentioned unless I’m mistaken.

  4. Tabby says:

    He appears rather peeved. Possibly the protocol wasn’t up to his standards.

  5. L.Gatt says:

    Well they also seem not to have recognised Enrico Letta – not that we can blame them with Italy changing PM every six months.

    • Victor says:

      But at least Enrico Letta is mentioned in the list of foreign dignitaries attending. Our Joseph isn’t even mentioned there.

  6. osservatore says:

    Can I be so presumptuous as to infer, from the look on Joseph Muscat’s face and his slouched position (Major and Clegg are sitting upright), that his legs must be spread wide open and his feet thrown apart at odd angles?

    What a shame Mrs Michelle Muscat wasn’t there too to add a sense of faux-mourning to the occasion in an all-black outfit and veiled hat, with some intellectual nicety like “Miskin, hux! Miet Nelson! Illum jiena gejt.”

  7. Gaetano Pace says:

    NO DECORUM at all. Those lips betray a hundred feelings especially when compared to Clinton`s radiant smile and Obama`s facial expressions.

  8. DimitriFromParis says:

    Clearly the Nationalist have infiltrated the BBC.

    How dare they not mention our PM as one of the world figures attending the Nelson Mandela memorial service?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25312791

  9. Neil says:

    Tad-daqqiet ta’ harta

  10. GD says:

    There’s a “full” list of foreign dignitaries right at the bottom. Oh look – he’s missing from that too.

  11. Liberal says:

    At least the caption did not include “and passport salesman Joseph Muscat”.

  12. M. Cassar says:

    With that posture and facial expression, they can be excused for thinking that he could not possibly be anyone important.

    • P Shaw says:

      With that body and expression, the press might think he is a funeral crasher.

      Joseph Muscat seems to be really struggling to read and understand the contents of the booklet.

    • Lomax says:

      Cannot agree more. Some of us seem not to have made it to “homo sapiens” evolution stage.

      I suppose some of us are stuck in the australopitechus phase of evolution.

      • U Le! says:

        He could have done with a quick visit to the nearby Cradle of Humankind park. It shows how much humans have evolved, well some of us anyway.

  13. Calculator says:

    What the hell’s going on with Joey’s face, though?

  14. marks says:

    He is probably fuming that he has been left out of the official list of dignitaries.

  15. Niku says:

    ‘My name is Joseph Muscat and I am the prime minister of Filfla.’ Less harm done to Malta.

  16. Tim Ripard says:

    ‘They don’t know who I am’.

  17. Felix says:

    Not much of a good omen. He will stamp his feet harder.

  18. Paddy says:

    The “turd”. Brilliant.

  19. Bullivant says:

    Am I correct in stating that to Joseph Muscat’s left there were Chelsea Clinton, Hilary Clinton and Bill Clinton ?

  20. Bullivant says:

    Am I correct in stating that to Joseph Muscat’s left there were the Clintons (Chelsea, Hilary and Bill) ?

  21. Artemis says:

    Was Joey invited or did he gatecrash?

  22. Louis says:

    The more he keeps his mouth shut the less damage he does.

  23. Nitpicker says:

    apparently they only listed ” people of calibre”

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