Why Simon Busuttil should not have taken up the ice bucket challenge
Published:
August 29, 2014 at 10:18am
He’s in a totally different market to Joseph Muscat. The gap in the political market is for a leader with gravitas as the market for politicians with idiot-appeal is full to capacity.
Let Muscat stand under an up-ended bucket of tepid water with a giant Franco-Debono-style polo player on his left nipple, accompanied by a giggling health minister.
Busuttil should have stood apart from it all as Obama did, for the reasons given in this article.
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http://guardianlv.com/2014/08/ice-bucket-challenge-not-accepted-by-president-obama/
And neither should our Head of State have done so, for that matter.
Noticed how no-one expected anything else?
That’s probably the saddest part.
Why should one expect anything else from her?
Ice-bucket tomfoolery fits her like a glove – and it draws the crowds she seems to be coveting (unsuccessfully?)
My thoughts exactly. Can you just imagine Eddie Fenech Adami or even Lawrence Gonzi accepting to ridicule themselves in this manner? Such persons should be above these things.
And no, I have not (yet) read the article you linked to.
As an aside, Times of Malta’s comments board below the tremor article, http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140829/local/updated-tremor-felt-in-parts-of-malta.533519 :
Abigail Grech • 4 hours ago
“in zabbar it felt and strong”
Doris Zammit Abigail Grech • 3 hours ago
” in Xghajra Malta it felt and strong too”
Stupid emulates stupid.
And, of course, stupid generates even more stupid.
What one would not give to have one’s name appearing on Internet – no matter how silly the contribution.
You’re treating Simon Busuttil with kids gloves here and it’s a pity that this blog is becoming solely focused on what government is doing wrong. The Ice Bucket Challange proved, once again, what a PR-mess Simon Busuttil can be. First he ‘chickened-out’ with a tweet, saying that he’s got no more ice left in the freezer as there was a power cut a few weeks ago. Then he posted a selfie holding a 100 euro cheque for Puttinu Cares (can anyone tell him it’s not at all elegant for an aspiring Prime Minister to show the amount of money you donate? He’s got a house on sale for more than a million euro right now). Then he did one of his ormai classic u-turns. He accepted the challenge. And here we go again, he changed the rules, and had 3 buckets thrown at him when the challenge says ‘one’. And all this after giving us a sermon, with the most condescending tal-MUSEUM voice, on what the ice bucket challenge is all about. My God, what a mess the Nationalist Party is in. Did anyone, by any chance, see Mario de Marco playing the fool anywhere?
Right you are!
Oh I see, one of those.
You do realise all you’re doing is damaging De Marco himself.
If you’re for real, your behaviour makes him look manipulative. If you’re Labour, your attempts at making him seem better than Busuttil just make him look a sneak – not that it matters to you, of course.
Agree 100%
Hey Carlos, Here’s MdM ‘playing the fool’ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152734581679124&set=vb.161926419123&type=2&theater
It’s not just Simon Busuttil. It’s the entire Maltese population. It’s a Maltese thing. We try to please.
Simon Busuttil is a politician. He’s in the game of being popular. So is Joseph Muscat. So is Mario Demarco, and he has the advantage of being a Son Of, which he’s used to the max, forever giving speeches about his fantastic father.
Those who choose another way have a hard time. I don’t try to be please, which is why I don’t have any friends. Neither does Daphne, who serves no one but the truth. We belong to the Strambi who chose not to join this silly internet stunt. An icebucket. How lovely. So we can post it on Facebook and donate 10 miserable dollars to charity. Meanwhile, we increase Facebook traffic so that twat Zuckerberg can make another 10 million.
It would have been extraordinary for any Maltese politician to refuse the ice bucket challenge. It’s not in their nature. Come Christmas time, they will all be cavorting on that ghastly Joe Azzopardi’s show. “For a worthy cause”, we are told.
Yes, right. Go and shoot yourselves, all. For a worthy cause.
The rules stipulate donating €10 if you accept the challenge, €100 if you don’t.
That means Busuttil overdid his challenge. He comes across as too eager to please. He shouldn’t.
His target demographic (us) is not impressed by this sort of thing. The ones who are have already made up their minds (Laburist sal-mewt or Nazzjonalist inkallit), so the charm offensive is wasted on them.
Carlos P is right, but then Mario Demarco is no better. And he’s got Times of Malta wrapped around his finger.
You’re right of course. I was pleased when I saw that he refused the challenge the first time but when he did eventually accept the challenge a day after, I thought that he’s a crowd-pleaser after all.
Spot on, Baxxter. As usual.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju5VxyM3S4o
Now this is class.
In other (ordinary and maybe not so classy) words, Patrick Stewart is saying “You can stuff your darned ice-bucket gimmick. Here’s to your health and here’s the desired cheque”.
Acting silly-funny in public, no matter how positive the motivation might be, is not something that people occupying high office should do.
I did not like to see our Head of State do the bucket stunt.
She lost the chance to endorse the charity in a more dignified way. The same goes for the (acting) Police Commissioner. The duties of office do not allow you the freedom that the ordinary citizen enjoys.
I couldn’t agree more. Maybe I’m growing old and becoming old-fashioned but this whole ice bucket business really caused me to think long and hard about what society has become fixated with.
There are many important illnesses which need a considerable injection of funds to be better researched and treated and this is the heart of the matter which has sadly been trivialised to the extreme.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/caroline.galeawasmicallef?fref=nf
Simon Busuttil should show more “grinta” in his dealings with the government as the Nationalist Party is still losing ground. For example why doesn’t he prod the government continuously about the passport monitoring?
…and as I wrote in a previous post…the merit in giving to charity lies in doing it anonymously – otherwise it’s just cheap media coverage..sorry for the cold shower, pale faces.
Essentially Simon Busuttil can’t even decide on a blasted ice bucket challenge. No. Maybe. Yes.
We are talking about alternative prime minister material, for heaven’s sake.
What would he have done during the Libyan crisis when two fighter jets wanted to land in Malta, and all the subsequent threats from the Ghaddafi regime?
And I’m no fake, nor a de Marco supporter, but have simply given up on the PN which I’ve supported loyally.
As to the question of who could take up the leadership, my answer is anyone could do a better job than Dr Busuttil, myself included. It will take some courage for that person, knowing all too well that the chances of success are very slim, but at least someone who is able to reduce the vote deficit to below 8,000, which is he hardest part.
At this rate, mark my words that in 2018 the PL majority will be even greater than 33K. Five years wasted and the PN in greater disarray. And I know what I’m talking about as I mix with lots of switchers.
I could do a better job too, but I would never get voted it. Not with Maltese electorate.
Simon Busuttil makes the capital mistake of trying to please when he has nothing to offer. Joseph Muscat could do it, and boy is he a consummate crowd-pleaser. But he knew he would win the election, and he could promise fantastic iced buns which he knew he could deliver.
Exactly which voter will this incarnation of Simon Busuttil attract? The diehard Nazzjonalisti – the ones who would vote for him anyway, or another other NP leader for that matter.
Will it siphon off Labour votes? Absolutely not. Both party leaders are trying hard to please everyone. All else being equal, people will vote for the one who’s already in power, because he’s the one who’s in power and can deliver, QED.
Will it cause any intelligent switchers to de-switch? No. Because they do not seek a crowd-pleaser but a leader.
Until Simon Busuttil stops trying to please everyone and starts pissing off some of them, he will never dent Labour’s solid majority.
And I know exactly where he should start: the bird-shooting lobby (known in Malta as the hunters).
Baxxter, you do have a habit in generalising. I can assure you I have loads of friends, and am not a “stramb” . I haven’t even been nominated for the challenge. Most of my closest friends are not on Facebook and have no reason to show off with this ALS challenge.
I haven’t been nominated either. I’m worried. It means I really have no friends.
Mario Demarco did the ice bucket challenge together with his over-made up wife Sharon and they pasted it on Facebook.
It’s an ice bucket challenge not a bucket of ice challenge.
Is it just me that missed the news that Maltese charities have had a spike in donations recently?
The selfie generation can throw the contents of an ice bucket on their head and true to their narcissistic character post the video of them doing it on Facebook. Any one older should know better.
Just in case anyone is wondering, no I haven’t been nominated, either because I’m not of the in crowd or because my friends know I don’t do stupid if I can help it.
If so many are so keen to help why don’t they just go out and do it> And it doesn’t even have to be an organisation. I’m sure we all have a lonely old lady up our street, or a couple struggling with a sick child.
It’s nobody’s business but yes, we have done our bit, and we’re not telling any one about it because we’re doing it because we care. And that for us is enough.