Alfred’s looking for his boxla socjali
Or at least, that’s what Lawrence Gonzi told him in the final debate on TVM earlier tonight. Meanwhile, Squawking Sant went diligently through his list of phrases-which-I-must-use-every-time-I-speak-in-public. Good governance. Korruzzjoni lampanti. Bidla trankwilla. Stil modern ta’ tmexxija. Kafe jew tnejn. Stagnar.
Then he brought out his list of reasons why we should vote Labour for a bidla trankwilla. Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and his tenant at Mistra. A health report on the government website that lists ‘miscellaneous fees’ (the fees paid by those who are not Maltese or British). A four-year-old report about health payments rejected by Gonzi with the words ‘Over my dead body.’ Oh yes, and his latest one: Malta is now the Ukraine of the Mediterranean because Harry Vassallo refused to pay his VAT fines and fill in his VAT forms and he now risks imprisonment.
‘You’ve got a nerve, you weirdo,’ I yelled at the television. ‘And were the hell where you in 1985? Oh yes, you were president of the corrupt, hellish and violent Labour Party. Ghax ma’ tmurx tinheba!’
Talk about reinventing himself – this man has some brass neck to even mention the word ‘corruption’. I wish Gonzi had had the presence of mind to remind Sant exactly where he was when the Labour Party had turned Malta into the Zimbabwe of the Mediterranean. I would have loved to hear him reply (robotic voice): ‘I don’t talk about history. That’s water under the bridge.’
So what did he say that was exciting enough to tempt me to vote Labour? Don’t hold your breath: nothing but more neurotic obsessing about korruzzjoni lampanti – a field in Mistra and a pavement outside Ninu Zammit’s house. Yes, I really can’t wait until Saturday to rush to the polling-station to give them my Number One.
A mistake that will go down in history
What I remember most from the final debate between Squawking Sant and Eddie Fenech Adami in 2003 was the sound of Sant heckling Fenech Adami as the credits rolled. This time, he did all his heckling at the start of the show. Gonzi was trying to explain something, and all I could hear was The Feathered One clucking and squawking and interrupting while the moderator made no attempt at stopping him.
Gonzi was on top form, speaking for many of us when he told Sant about his visit to the Police Commissioner: ‘Allura filghaxija tghidlu ‘paraventu’, imbaghad filghodu tmur ghandu u tiehu l-gazzetti mieghek halli taghmel show. L-aqwa l-show, mhux ir-rapport.’
I wish the camera had panned to Sant’s face when Gonzi told him that his mistake of refusing to join the European Union would go down in history: ‘a historic mistake.’ This really must have bitten deep, because Sant believes that he was born to lead Malta, destined to become the greatest prime minister in the history of the country – and at 60, an age when most are looking back at their achievements, he is still hoping to achieve this dream, with the rest of us paying the price.
Hall of mirrors
Well, you have to hand it to our feathered friend. He really knows how to distort reality. One of my sons (the one who rightly told the Super One harasser where to go and how to do it) emerged from his bedroom bug-eyed in wonder at the sound of The Feathered One’s bleating about how Malta is stagnating, how ‘taht GonziPN il-pajjiz mar lura.’
‘Is he mad?’ he asked. ‘I’m the wrong person to ask because I’m not a psychiatrist,’ I said. ‘Let’s just conclude that he’s partly deaf and blind and has a distorted view of reality.’ The ‘son of Daphne’ went back to his bedroom, another first-time voter who’s turned his back on the clucking chicken.
Sant also has a whole list of petty obsessions, like not calling the new hospital by its name. ‘L-isptar tal-Qroqq,’ he keeps saying, and this time Gonzi corrected him off camera: ‘Mater Dei jismu.’ Then he launched into a description of why he thinks Malta is a worse place now than it was when he was running the country (into the ground). Off camera, I could hear Gonzi sigh with exasperation: ‘U Giezu, minn fejn igibhom; x’affarijiet dawn.’
Yes, really – x’affarijiet dawn. We have got to this stage – an electoral contest between the man who has worked wonders in four years and a cowardly weirdo in a wig who calls his mummy when students boo him, whose government collapsed in chaos after 22 months, and who has lost two general elections and one referendum. And we don’t know which one will win. That’s the real obscenity.
Godard Pastizzerija – Prop. A. Sant
For the best qassatat in town, check out this link.
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How can I watch the debate, is it on You tube? Can we see excerpts?
[Moderator – LAWRENCE GONZI VS ALFRED SANT : Dibattitu 2008 (Part 1)]
The debate can be viewed on the di-ve.com website in full at their media library.
My favorite part of the whole debate was a bit which can be summarized like this:
Sant: Gonzi has no regrets!
Gonzi: I DO have regrets.
Sant: YOU HAVE NO REGRETS!
Sigh.
[Moderator – Chris, that made me laugh! Thanks.]
As there is no political press today, has everybody seen the report by the Police Commissioner and how HARRY tried to spin something out of nothing:
Taken from the Times of Malta website yesterday:
Police Commissioner explains how Vassallo was informed about the arrest warrants
The Police Commissioner in a statement this afternoon said a sergeant at Sliema police station informed AD leader Harry Vassallo about the arrest warrants issued against him when he went to his office to make inquiries about a burglary.
The Commissioner explained that on October 15, 2007 the police received two arrest warrants issued by the Courts on September 27, 2007 against Dr Vassallo over unpaid fines which had been converted into a prison term.
On October 18, 2007 the two warrants were sent to the Sliema police for execution.
They were handed to the sergeant at Sliema police station on November 12 but were not executed.
Since this sergeant was no longer posted at Sliema, on February 7 the warrants were handed to another sergeant.
On March 1 this sergeant was involved in investigations into a burglary in Sliema. Since Dr Vassallo’s family had vacant property close to where the burglary took place, the sergeant, as was the norm, felt he needed to speak to Dr Vassallo to establish whether there was access from the Vassallo property to the property where the burglary took place.
After having phoned Dr Vassallo, the sergeant on Wednesday called on Dr Vassallo at his office..
Once he was going there, the sergeant felt he should also speak to Dr Vassallo about the arrest warrants.
According to the sergeant and the constable who accompanied him, they spoke to Dr Vassallo about their investigations into the burglary as well as the warrants. They asked Dr Vassallo to regularise his position instead of them having to proceed with the arrest as authorised by the court.
The meeting had been a very cordial one and matters stopped there, the police said.
Both the sergeant and the police constable categorically denied having communicated with a Media.link journalist or anybody else about the case. They also volunteered to make a sworn statement about the case,
The Commissioner said he was asking the chairman of the Police Board, Judge Franco Depasquale, to hold an inquiry into the case.
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john fenech (1 minute ago)
Dr.Vassallo is expecting the general public who read or heard about his misadventure to believe that he is innocent of knowingly breaking the law. Since he is aspiring to be a minister I am eager to trust his version of the truth. Although after reading this report I must confess that the chronological account of his truth is some what obscure!
Even so I will not judge him but, shouldn’t he stop and reflect about those who will gain from this misadventure. One his supporters will vote for the AD irrespective of the substance of this case. Two since he is the victim in all probability he or his party stand to get more votes from the PN.
So DR.Vassallo you are surely not that politically naive to believe that a political Party will bite its nose to spite its face …probably there is better saying in Maltese!!
Albert Galea (3 minutes ago)
As I wrote in my last comment, who stood to gain from all this spin:
1. AD
2. MLP
3. PN
This clearly indicated who orchestrated this storm in a tea-cup!!! Pathetic.
And what is worst, is all of you who immediately blamed Gonzi of running a police-state, throwing innocent people into prison, being the third gun-men behind the grassy knoll, etc. When it was AD and the “innocent” environmentalist who spun all this for his gain and to the PN’s detriment. Who ever could not see this is truly lacking in political common sense.
Get a grip. Vote on facts.
Is Malta better off? Yes or NO?
With Gonzi as PM are you worried about your job, livelihood, children’s future, health care, the country’s finances, etc.? If you are vote for change, if not vote GONZI.
But what about corruption? Maybe there is, but have any of us seen any proof of anything? Has anybody been sent to court or put behind bars. In all these years as leader of the opposition and as Prime Minister how many cases of corruption has sent managed to expose that ended up seeing the inside of a court room? As PUBLIC ENEMY once sang: “DON’T, DON’T, DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE” (great hip hop album – little anecdote)
But seriously DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE and vote on facts. Whether you know it or not, YOU are better off. Fact.
Vote for Sant and maybe you will be worrying about your job, livelihood, kids, etc. Look what Sant did to our economy in only 24 months in power.
John Mary Attard (6 minutes ago)
Shame on you Dr Vassallo for this stage managed martyrdom. It shows truly how AD is in bed witht he MLP with all those crocodile tears coming out yesterday from the MLP.
This makes me more resolute that I have to put my vote to the PN and Dr Gonzi.
However there is a lot of explaining to be done from the police how something sitting in a drawer since November 07 goes out now on the eve of the elections.
It is good that the commissioner has passed this over to a judge to investigate further.
K Xuereb (9 minutes ago)
@ Paul Vella.
I do believe the public is gullible. Almost half of the population (hopefully not more) believes a man who says will halve the surcharge on utilities in 2008 when oil is $100 + dollars a barrel.
Doubly gullible when considering that the same wannabe PM, when he had a shot at governing, had almost TRIPLED the utility RATES (not surcharge – a very important distinction) when the price of oil was roughly 10% of what it is today.
Dr Sant is hoping to repeat the 1996 fluke by promising panaceas (surcharge 2008/ VAT 1996) and slandering at will (JPO and others 2008/ Michael Frendo 1996)
Hopefully, the electorate knows better than to trust him this time round.
C. Valletta (9 minutes ago)
Finally, an end to this saga. Will Mr Vassallo please explain to all of us why he did a press conference stating that he wasinformed about the court order but at the same time he did not inform us why did the police went to visit him in the first place??
also quoting from AD press release “Din in-nasba ilha tinhema ghal hames xhur billi minflok gejt avzat immedjatament b’li kien sehh il-qorti” ……….so here we should believe that Harry Vassallo was summoned to court and did not even took an intrerest to know the final verdict….Maybe i am an ordinary citizen but I am not stupid. The way Mr Vassallo deals with his Vat returns is his problem but to use a visit by a police constable to investigate a neighbouhood theft and remindind him to regularise his position, as a political stunt and vote catching exercise is disgusting.
Mike Farrugia (12 minutes ago)
Dear Dr. Vassallo,
can you or someone from AD please inform us if this is the truth.
If this is not the truth you should open a libel to the Comissioner of Police.
But I have a feeling that the police commisioner is right in this story.
John Schembri (12 minutes ago)
Why no mention of the theft in Harry’s version of happenings? This is getting dirty.
Charles Camilleri (13 minutes ago)
The Commissioner of Police failed to tell us in the first place why the sargeant failed to execute the warrants and what actions are contemplating against him for this failure. The whole episode shows complete lack of efficiency by the police force which has caused all this trouble. Someone is accountable for all this mess.
Joseph Aquilina (16 minutes ago)
Of course the AD and (mostly) MLP supporters will soon come screaming that the commissioner is corrupt. They will not admit that facts show that HV tried to gain a political advantage out of all this!
Michael Porter (17 minutes ago)
We now need TWO trays of pies!!
Guzeppi Grech (17 minutes ago)
eh? what? October 18 sent to Sliema police station, November 12 handed to sergeant at same police station! Does it take almost 1 month to hand over papers from one cop to another in the same police station? And then what? Not executed! Then a transfer of the sergeant and it took another 3 months until someone said…ah..yes, we have these warrants, lets tell good old Harry about them now, since we’re going there anyway.
Sound like a joke, but smells more like a COVER-UP.
Investigate seriously please.
Joe Martinelli (18 minutes ago)
Now that we have what appears to be a reasonable explanation from the Police Commissioner himself, as to what happened in the Dr. Vassallo saga, clearly excluding the involvement of the NP, a new question arises.
How much more time will be given to Dr. Vassallo to ‘regularize’ his position with regard to the outstanding fines?
Would it be advisable for Dr. Vassallo to procrastinate further? Should the MLP form the next government, would Dr. Vassallo be their ‘zero tolerance’ victim?
Is evasion of paying fines not some form of corruption?
Mario Gauci (22 minutes ago)
Now we have it from the horse’s mouth….. Nobody went to take poor old Harry to prison! Who are you trying to kid Dr. Harry Vassallo? Trying to take political advantage at this late hour shows that you are using MLP’s tactics. Shame on you.
Joseph Mifsud (24 minutes ago)
So now we know the whole truth & not Harry’s part of the story. After all that has been said, can anybody now points his finger to the PN?
Keith Chircop (28 minutes ago)
What a coincidence! The arrest warrant crossed the seargant’s mind a couple of hours after a NET TV journalist + cameraman broke the news to Harry Vassallo.
Anna Borg (28 minutes ago)
I think Harry Vassallo owes us an explanation. I’d like to see what he has to say about this!
Elaine Sultana (29 minutes ago)
Thanks a lot Dear Commissioner. You really clarified the situation. What was the first segeant waiting for back in November? And this second felt the need to tell him on an occasion which arose by coincedence? I think this left me more perplexed than it clarified the situation
Joseph Aquilina (31 minutes ago)
The police tried to make him a favour and he used them to gain a political advantage – what a great leader!
David Buttigieg (31 minutes ago)
In other words a cheap stunt by AD to try and make a martyr out of Vassallo – Pathetic!!!
Obviously Sant tries getting what he can but I think this will backfire on both AD and Sant
Andrew Sciberras (33 minutes ago)
Ha! Ha! I predicted exactly this sixteen and a half hours ago!:
Andrew Sciberras (16 hours, 26 minutes ago)
I shall not be at all surprised if in the coming hours we hear of some obscure Police inspector having freshly made a sworn affidavit attesting to the fact that he deliberately kept the jail order in his drawer with the full intention of executing it two days before the election. Rather stupid of said Police inspector to inform Net News of his intention though don’t you think?
So deja-vu!
What’s more this does not explain how the Medialink journalists knew what was to happen four hours later and how a story appeared about this, which story was subsequently deleted when the great brains at Dar Centrali realized their gaffe!!
Mario Debono (39 minutes ago)
What a storm in a teacup this was, and how cleverly milked by AD in order to make a martyr out of Harry. He has lost my respect. And as for the MLP, then they have not had the decency to refrain from commenting on this issue.
Noel Barry (39 minutes ago)
Where are you all those who put the blame on the PN. I hope that you will have the guts to reverse all what has been said, now that the truth is out. PN will win the election.
Paul Vella (39 minutes ago)
How pathetic! I can’t believe my eyes when reading this! Does somebody believe that the Maltese people are gullible this much!
Ray Bezzina (40 minutes ago)
Now I guess Harry will retract his conspiracy theory, or would he??!!
peter portelli (41 minutes ago)
so finally we get the truh about Mr Vassallo’s saga and “pity me” show of last night !!
Now can somone tell us why on earth did AD decide to invent such a story yesterday about something that according to the Police Commissioner’s statement did not happen ?
Why was AD so prompt to stage a pitiful press conference ?
is this the way Ad intends getting elected into Parlaiment ?
Shame on you !!
Thought you were above these dirty political games.
I stand by the Police Commissioner’s statement.
Thank you Dr Gonzi for showing us what integrity is all about.
P. Portelli
angele galea (45 minutes ago)
Vote for HV for he will take you for a long nice ride!!!!!!
Quite amusing…after the debate i switched channels and out of curiosity i was watching Super One when two journalists invited on Super One and said Gonzi was on the defensive throughout the debate – talking about distorting reality. I mean really these people insult my intelligence…see for yourselves how on the defensive he was and evaluate the difference between Gonzi and Sant properly throughout the debate.
DEBATING THE TRUTH
No, that is not a reference to the party leaders debate televised on 6th March. It is the title of one of Alfred Sant’s prosy points still online at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080227/opinion/prosy-points-47
Here’s what Alfred Sant said.
“At the end of the now infamous University “debate” for party leaders, I was not whisked away from a side entrance. I just went there to pick up my coat. The fracas at the University was an organised partisan show of intolerance and immaturity, true, but it did not amount to a riot. I left from the main entrance, walked to the University bookstore and bought myself a book which I had intermittently shopped for over a number of years and finally found. Ironically, given what had just happened during the “debate”, its title is Truth And Method.”
Here’s the truth: Alfred Sant would have us believe that he was unruffled by his audience’s reaction, that he did not avoid a closer encounter by escaping through an emergency exit and that he was cool and relaxed enough to go shopping for books in the nest of vipers known as Students’ House.
And here’s the method: When your feathers are ruffled, smooth them by publishing your version of events and everyone will believe what you say because you are the Great Leader and they must obey.
The trouble with that method is that mere mortals, as opposed to heavy intellectuals, have not read Gadamer.
Mere mortals still believe that interpreting a text means reconstructing the author’s intention: Alfred Sant’s cool and relaxed version of his exit from that debate reads very much like yet another chicken run.
Victor Laiviera’s gone quiet, I see. Is he busy composing another razor-sharp comment for our amusement or is he just being cool and relaxed while obeying the ban on political reporting?
I imagine it’s the latter: Mr Laiviera believes we should obey when Big Daddy government tells us to shut up.
I can’t find if/where the mlp have posted yesterday’s debate. Is there something to hide?
If you want to watch the Gonzi vs Sant political broadcast, you can see it in full here: http://public.di-ve.com/streaming/on_demand_media_streamer.aspx?id=883&encoding=8&backUrl=streaming%2fon_demand_event_encoding.aspx%3fid%3d883
Needless to say, Gonzi ruled throughout.
@ Corinne Vella
I’m missing our friend as well. Nobody around to try at least to keep the flag flying for AS. Has maybe Mr.Laiviera decided to give up trying to defend the indefensible, and stop supporting the unsupportable?
The truth is clear for all to see, just look at the salient differences between Dr. Sant’s style of speech and that of Dr. Gonzi. Lawrence Gonzi makes me proud to be Maltese, his arguments are logical, convincing and trustworthy whilst with Dr. Sant well …. I rest my case!!! Not to mention, Dr. Gonzi’s remarkable track record in stark contrast to the dark days of Dr. Sants tragic albeit short rule.
I have pondered over Dr Charles Mangion’s comment regarding my DNA structure, and I think I may have to agree on this one except that I do not believe that there is something wrong with my DNA, just that there is something different and that something is called intelligence. Intelligence to judge who is worthy of being Malta’s prime minister once again. If anyone is still undecided as to what his civic duty is tomorrow, its not just to vote but to ensure that you give Malta a government that it truly deserves … the NP, of course.
I’ve been hearing that things aren’t looking too good – hope my sources are wrong!! I pray they are!!!
@Vanni
Please disabuse yourself of the notion that Victor Laiviera is a friend of mine. I have never met the man, nor, judging by his comments, would I ever like to.
I wonder how he’s keeping himself busy on his day of silence. Swotting up on the construction of locks, perhaps? He seems rather keen on us all spending the best part of an hour in a series of locks to save a ten minute walk across Valletta.
I know who deserves my vote. I didn’t need the electoral campaign to persuade me. I have grumbled in the past but the hard facts are tangible.
BUT what is really irksome is the fact that the Opposition have been paid these last eleven years with our hard earned taxes and have done absolutely zilch.
Reality check – a good Opposition can strengthen and hone out a government the Maltese deserve.
The least the Maltese could have expected was a decent Labour electoral platform. Where was it? What have these people been doing all these years – gossiping, coveting their neighbours goods, what exactly? It wasn’t anything constructive.
I have heard all sorts of things about corruption, including zero tolerance. Nobody seems to remember that the bit that takes the biscuit, in the realm of corruption, was how Sant was “elected” leader. Ask Lino Spiteri and Muscat.
Can we trust anyone who is capable of such things? Macchiavelli was a novice.
Gibran el-Nahhal: yes, we all know that Sant’s sidekicks had to use dirty tricks against Lino Spiteri to get Sant elected, and we’re not surprised.
This is a man who has done nothing but chuck dirt and accusations around for 16 long years. Why then should we be astonished that immediately before the leadership election which Lino Spiteri was contesting (against Sant, and with better chances of winning than he had), dirty rumours were whispered into the electors’ ears? We should have seen it for what it was then: a taste of what was to come.
I haven’t had the time to read everything that was being published by everyone all the time during the campaign. Can somebody let me know whether there were any promises about whether the Disco in Mistra will be stopped from being built? I really hope we won’t have to go protest in Valletta again like we had to do for the Ramla Villas and the Rationalisation of the ODZ. I’m pro-PN but obviously I don’t agree with evrything the PN allowed w.r.t. our countryside.
Thumbs down for the police failing to execute the warrant of arrest when it was issued. None of this would have happened.
But, on the other hand, this stupid stunt did serve a couple of purposes:
1. It showed which way AD really leans …. coalition, indeed !!!
2. That Hustler Harry is actually as dumb as he looks.
As the Italians would say: Vai a lavorare !!
Don’t worry, David – just get a red flag and join us in Castille Square come Monday morning – it will be funtime! :)
@ Victor Laiviera
I am not sure it could in any way be called “funtime”, if David does follow your advice and turns up with a red flag in a sea of blue that will be at Castille come Monday.
Lonely, maybe, brave, certainly, but definately not my idea of “funtime”. Mind you it does take all sorts.
Ha ha Victor Laviera,
thought I’d draw you out, you are so gullible!! But then again that was obvious to start with!
Aha. So Victor Laiviera is truly a Lion of Change, breaking with his tradition of honouring antiquated laws. So after all it seems he doesn’t really believe that all rules should be obeyed just because they exist.
That was a strained laugh if I ever heard one – kuraġġ, David – the days of living in a banana republic are numbered.
This really takes the biscuit Corinne – first you censor a comment of mine – then you have the gall to criticise me about it.
Have you absolutely no shame?
[Moderator – Victor, what comment are you talking about? It must have slipped by me while I was controlling the world’s media and establishing a New World Order.]
To David Buttigieg – do not count your chickens before they hatch my friend! I too am hearing lots of rumours, but seeing that I have seen many New Years (slightly less than Daphne I think!) and a good number of elections, I’ve grown wary of such pre-election polls and rumours.
Somewhere in this blog, it was mentioned that in 1996, PN were predicting a 14,000 or 16,000 vote victory, and I remember vividly being part of the largets crowd I have ever seen during the last PN meeting at Ta-Qali – and we all know how things went then.
So let us treat polls and chain emails and SMS’s with a pinch of salt… if I were one of the PN strategists, I would make sure no favourable results/projections are issued, to ensure no one feels complacent and does the unthinkable…..
Why, Victor? Because you’re bringing in the coconuts?
Victor Laiviera: I certainly hope they are, because maybe then all the little elves (including old ones) will retire gracefully to their grotto, so that Malta can continue progressing, rather than go back to the dark ages.
Dear friend,
The Mistra application has already been withdrawn.
If PN are elected the Development Planning Act is going to be changed drastically, in order to safeguard better the environment.
Hopefully, Gonzi is PM again.
Victor how stupid can you be to fall for such a trick. It was too tempting to keep away from blogging today! But then again you lost to temptation to pass an intelligent comment on how you would be celebrating a labour government on Monday. I know that PN may need a “dbezbiza” every now and then but for God’s and everyone’s sake, especially for Malta’s sake and credibility do not repeat the 1996 result. It goes beyond a “dbezbiza” if Sant is reelected!
Victor Laiviera – Forgive me for thinking that you are becoming a tad too obsessed by the Vella sisters. You obviously loathe one, but insist on posting comments on her blog, and you insist that another is the moderator, despite having been told that she is not. At least you’ve stopped ping-ponging comments with me. Aha – But there’s another one of us lurking on this site. Beware!
Victor Laiviera: Let me repeat this yet again and this time please listen carefully.
I DO NOT MODERATE THE COMMENTS ON THIS SITE.
Not, of course, that I would have any objection to doing so. It’s just that the job’s being ably done already. If you have any doubt, look at the moderator’s published responses to your comments.
I have reflected enough today. Thanks Daphne for putting up such a site. My reflections are that for stability of the country, my vote has to go to the PN for sure. No one can ever deny that since the PN had been in government, the country has changed from one that was mediocre in the 70s and 80s, to a country that is so vibrating.
I watched both mass meetings on TV yesterday. Both had masses of people, but one could decipher the differences immediately. The Luxol one, had old people, middle aged people, and some young people, whilst the Granaries at Floriana was thronged with young people. The youngsters who are the leaders of Malta tomorrow.
The difference lies in how the two main parties look at the Maltese people. The PN believes in us, the PN believes that we can do wonders in health, technology, economics, tourism. The MLP on the other hand, still believes that we are not good to be in the EU, we are so small that we cannot compete.
I come from the second district, an MLP stronghold…but my vote tomorrow will be going to the man who believes in me, who believes that I am worth it.
Please Alfred Sant, get real, we are not gullible.
Let’s all vote with great responsibility tomorrow, let us once again vote in the PN (we all know what happened when we gambled in 1996, and we elected Dr Sant. Let us all meet on Monday morning to see Dr Gonzi being sworn in as Prime Minister of ‘Din l Art Helwa’
Thanks Daphne for giving us such a site.
Dear moderator I think you know very well “what comment” – ask Corinne where she got the “believe that all rules should be obeyed just because they exist” from.
I only LOOK stupid.
Corinne, that makes it even worse – it means you have access to posts which have been moderated – tsk, tsk …..
[Moderator – Victor, all posts are moderated, and just like you, Corinne can see them because they are published here. Or maybe Corinne Vella hacked the system and I haven’t realised.]
Dear “To dumbledore” – You say that “If PN are elected the Development Planning Act is going to be changed drastically, in order to safeguard better the environment.”.
So who will administer the ‘changed’ policy – Mr SpinValley Pullicino Orlando?
:) :)
Victor Laviera,
Wow, you heard my laugh, you must have amazing OCR software.
Actually I agree with you on the Banana Republic bit – Only in a banana republic would Sant have survived 16 years especially after 3 colossal defeats as head of his party. In a normal situation a clown like Sant would never have got past 98 let alone 2003
Victor Laiviera:
I hate to disappoint you but I didn’t lift the remark “believe that all rules should be obeyed just because they exist” from any comment you sent to this site.
You see, as I’ve repeated ad nauseam, I do not moderate this site. The only time I see the comments you send here is when they are published.
I’ll tell you on what basis I made that remark you quote: the come-hell-or-high-water stance you took in justifying Alfred Sant’s citation of the BA rule book. You know which one I mean. Now please don’t bore everyone by reopening that debate. You asked. I answered. End of story.
As for whether you look stupid, I wouldn’t know. I’ve never seen you and wouldn’t recognise you if you were the last man on earth. I have a feeling, though, that *you* recognise *me*, seeing as your friends over at MaltaStar think I look like a young student.
Mr Laviera…
The PM will be in charge of the necessary changes! I’m sure you were aware of it.
Dr Gonzi is the right person to do it. Whom would you like to do it?? Roderick Galdes or Joe Brincat?? Contractors will be delighted if the latter are chosen.
Victor Laiviera – I confirm that only one person has access to unmoderated comments as they come in, and it’s not Corinne. The moderator is a 22-year-old man, not a 42-year-old woman.
Cens, to you REALLY think that anyone believed Gonzi when he suddenly became a champion of the environment after presiding over its destruction for 20 years?
Really, really?
@ Mr. Victor Laiviera
I thought that your boss doesn’t want to talk about the past. Have you got permission from him to open that particular can of worms?
In other words, may we discuss about the times of Lorry Sant, building permits, djar and plots ghal voti, jobs for the boys, etc etc?
Shall we also chat about the phrase “il-bieb tieghi miftuh ghal laburisti biss”?
We would have to postpone the election, as there is a ton of things to write, if you want to go down that particular road.
Mr. Laiviera, you are so ……… unbelievable. Accusing Dr. Gonzi of presiding over the destruction of the environment when the good old MLP has been burning it up since the old Mintoff days is…well unbelievable! Remember the coal depot in Marsa and the power station belching thick black coal smoke? And what about the Maghtab mountain dump? Who was responsible for that?
Nobody has mentioned it yet, but the HV saga smacks of a labour ploy, compare it with the tactics used in the leadership race.
I love it when MLP groupies (that’s what they are calling people who write in favour of political parties nowadays isn’t it?) speak about corruption. Forget about the Lorry Sant sagas, the Department of Trade Import Licence kickbacks etc etc. I mean AS is still on the Opposition benches and there is already the strong stench of corruption blowing from the direction of B’Bugia……
Dear Vanni, I have no “boss” – what I say and write are purely my ideas and I, and I alone, am responsible for them.
As far as I am concerned, you may discuss any period you like – as long as you don’t impose any arbitratry limits. I am comfortable in all of them. For example even if, for the sake of the argument, we were to ignore the exagerations and inventions about the time of Lorry Sant and accept all you say, it would still be only a fraction of the environmetal obscenities that the governmenthidingbehindMEPA committed over the last two legislatures.
As for the phrase ““il-bieb tieghi miftuh ghal laburisti biss”, surely you know that nowadays you don’t just have to be a nationalist, you have to be a nationalist of the inner circle to get anything and anywhere?
Laiviera – What about MLP “presiding over” the “destruction of” our schools, The Times building, the Law Courts, the Curia and Fenech Adami’s home, to mention but a few cases of destruction?
What about MLP “presiding over” the unhindered thuggery which was almost part and parcel of life (especially in Sliema)?
I could go on if you want me to, but I wouldn’t like to have you gloating further. You’re smug enough as it it…
Oh, and PN has not been in government for the last 20 years, because we were (un)blessed by Sant’s “governance”, as he likes to put it , for the 22 months prior to 02.09.98 … But of course you’d rather forget that, because it’s history.
I don’t run away from confrontation Mr. Laiviera. And I do not impose limits.
So here goes
Where was the great man, AS, when Mario Pavia, (RIP m8) was shot at in Rabat by a policeman under the Labour Goverment of the time?
His crime, attending a Nationalist meeting.
Where was the intellectual, AS, when KMB fiddled around with the education?
Where was AS, the clever fella, when the budget used to consist of “u issa nnaqsu 2 mils min landa ton taz-zejt” (the quote is NOT factual, but you get the idea)?
Where was AS, the intelligent one, when these infamous words were uttered: “Komputers ma jidhlux, ghax inehhu xoghol” (again not a precise quote, but you get the gist.)
Do you remember having to bribe hbieb tal-hbieb to get a colour TV, Mr. Laiviera? Do you remember Desserta?
Do you remember people going to Sicily and shopping like crazy for toothpaste and Barilla?
Do you remember Fusellu? He used to hang out at Thursdays Disco, with his hands always in both pockets.
What else would you like to talk about when we go down memory lane together, Mr. Laiviera?
Oh Victor, who said you have a boss!! Poor soul denigrating your divine rulers in that way must really hurt!
Listen let’s be honest the environment under PN has suffered.
HOWEVER, it is always much harder to deal with the environment in a country that is now substantially richer and consumes much more than in the 3rd-world days of the 70s and early 80s. There were less cars on the road (and nearly all broken down pre-war vehicles), no leisure boats, less retaurants, holiday homes, no ACs, washing machines were rare, less consumption of disposaables, etc.
And even though the island was broke Labour did an awful job with the environment.
As for planning, that was quite simple, Lorry Sant was the A-Z of Planning.
And by the way our friend Sant, was president of the party in those police-state, church-bashing, totalitarian days!
Furthermore, we are lucky that we are discussing the environment as a major campaign issue and not our freedom of speech, freedom of press, rampant unemployment, 3rd-world infrastructure, health, education, economic crisis. THESE used to be the issues when Labour were in charge.
Let us therefore keep things in proportion, and vote PN as they have given us our freedom and prosperity. And today we ALL live in a Malta that is doing bloody well. Fact, no matter how many times Sant repeats Stagnar!
Vote Sant and maybe all these critical issues will be on the agenda in Elections 2013 (should Sant last a full legislature).
Mallia (what a crude way of addressing each other – surely we can mantain a modicum of courtesy even when we disagree?)
I will let my alter-ego answer your last message;
http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=65821
Dear Vanni, I waa hoping someboedy would ask that question.
Where was sant ….”
Sant, together with a group of like-minded indivuals, was working, quietly and without fanfare, to reform te party from within – which is the only kind of reform that works. I can claim to have had a very, very modest part in it.
They succeeded to the extent that today’s MLP is probablt the cleanest and most violence-free party we ever had in Maltese politics.
The pity is that the PN never went through this same process.
I beg to differ Victor, my friend, but obviously we will have a difference in opinion over this till kingdom come.
@ Mr. Victor Laiviera
I have a feeling that this will not get me very far, seeing the answer you gave (“Sant, together with a group of like-minded indivuals, was working, quietly and without fanfare, to reform te party from within”) but I’ll try.
When exactly did AS, as present leader of the MLP, the same MLP who sent the marmalja on rampages, apologize for the happenings of the past?
If AS inherited the party, he inherited it warts and all. What did he ever offer in way of apology to those who were beaten, tortured, and to the relatives of those who were killed?
Did he just ONCE show repentance for the past? If yes, time and place please.
And before I forget, I wonder if you would you be so kind as to enlighten us what was AS’s his position in the MLP hierarchy at the darkest time’s in Malta’s history? The time of the worker’s aristocracy.
I wonder if the next excuse from Mr. Victor Laiviera will be along the lines of Befehl ist Befehl.
When Alfred Sant was invited to my wedding in 1985 (I had no choice, because he was married at the time to my husband’s cousin) he was PRESIDENT OF THE LABOUR PARTY – not ‘someone working quietly from within’, as Victor the historical revisionist puts it.
Vanni
At the risk of upsetting Mr Laiviera by stealing his thunder, I’ll upstage him with an answer to your question. What you describe is history and that’s for historians. Politics is about the future. What you describe is gone – all of it is acqua passata. Dr Alfred Sant has no regrets. None. This is not a hypothesis. It is a misprint because my computer malfunctioned.
[Moderator – I laughed so hard that I spat out my Crosscraft Fried Chicken.]
@ DCG
I guess he didn’t turn up in sackcloth and managed to stop himself from renting his clothes in anguish at what was happening at the time.
There is another way of expressing sorrow that I was dying to write, but I’ll be good …… :)