Arani, ma
I’m trying to wrap up a magazine today, so I’m going to borrow Andrew Borg-Cardona’s article, with which I agree, rather than saying the same thing in a different way.
The Times, Saturday, 15th November 2008
Age limits
I.M. BeckThere’s a reason why most leaders are of a certain age. Captains of industry, professional men and women who are looked up to by their peers, political figures, all of these have, by and large, one thing in common: experience.
And it is a biological fact that you can only achieve experience with age. Sometimes, age is only relative. In footballing terms, for instance, anyone over 20-odd is ancient, so your captain of England or Italy, to mention but two minor soccer nations, would tend to be quite young by normal standards but actually relatively older in football terms. That’s assuming, of course, that the manager hasn’t taken leave of his senses and appointed some tearaway like Rooney to lead the team.
Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to be of advanced years to be a worthy member of society: there are plenty of young Turks who generate wealth and well-being for themselves and people around them, who are genii in their fields.
But are they leaders? Not really, you’d have to admit, for all that, for various reasons, they command or buy a following.
Of course, youths all over will be giving a resounding raspberry at this stage, pointing out that I’m taking this position because I’m well past it and jealous of their youth, vigour and vim. I’m not that old that I can’t remember the way I used to strut the stage myself, imaging that I was the dog’s whiskers, the bee’s knees and the very acme of professionalism.
I look back on that time of my life with not a little amusement and some blushes. As you get on in years (listen to the doddering old fool) you start realising that no, you don’t know it all. In fact, you know very much less than you thought you did and what you do know isn’t all there is to know, by a very long chalk. The lucky thing is that age and guile will trump youth and brashness every time, so you can still have some fun with the energetic brats who are snapping at your heels.
Which gets me, by way of a pretty long introduction, to wondering why so many people adulate Joseph Muscat in the way they do. Looking at some of the adoring tracts written about him, at the way Super One dedicates so many hours of broadcasting to him (apparently, on Monday, he was on screen, what with his press conference and Bondi+ and his speech on the budget, almost all evening) you’d think that this was the second coming of Churchill and Kennedy rolled into one.
The truth is quite short of that, and then some. What we have here is a young, inexperienced, public policy graduate (post-graduate as well, to be fair) who has managed nothing more than himself for most of the time, finding himself elected to lead the second largest party in the country and, to boot, fulfil the constitutional role of Leader of the Opposition.
Worrying? Too right it is: youthful enthusiasm is all very well in its place, but do you really want someone who doesn’t have the nous to know that he’s out of his depth trying to keep up with the big kids? People like this take reckless risks, quite apart from wanting to be loved all the time and having to play to the gallery in order to try to attract what they imagine are the admiring glances of the grown-ups.
Conceivably, if the lad was flanked by men and women of substance, he’d be able to hack it, but what we’ve got here are wing-men of less than awe-inspiring political quality.
One is an ex-gamekeeper turned poacher who has little experience outside of policing, and this during an era when the force wasn’t exactly looked on with undying devotion, while the other is a sufferer from an extreme and virulent form of logorrhoea who seems to have contracted an equally virulent dose of DCGitis, which might make him an amusing enough conversation piece but hardly qualifies him to form part of the alternative policy-making machine that the Opposition should be.
Given this ensemble, and I’ve not made mention of the other stars in Labour’s galaxy, it’s hardly astounding that apart from whinging and smug parading, there’s not much to worry the government in this lot.
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ABC and DCG:
Agreed,and elegantly put;however,the Government must not get all heady about it since events will get much worse before they get better, and all the local economists are warning about it.
Well, the Government is certainly fortunate to be facing a less than formidable opponent but on the other hand it has only the slimmest of majorities to start with. Even the tiniest of improvements by Labour could tip the balance. And if Labour don’t do too well in the next European elections then they might just be forced to fix the leadership problem, possibly making it more difficult for the PN to remain competitive.
So I guess it’s really got to be the very very best from the Government all the way, with major tax cuts, economic stability and growth, a European or local solution to the immigration problem and, generally, a much better deal for hard working and law-abiding middle class families.
The majority fat or slim is only a snapshot of the electorate taken on election day. What the numbers are between snapshots is irrelevant to the legitimacy or not of the government.
The electorate is not static voters die, others come of age, and in 5 years people change. Therefore each and every election has to be contended on its own merits and not as a continuation of the previous one.
“We are going to have to face up to a very difficult and long-lasting economic crisis,” German Deputy Economy Minister Walther Otremba said on Thursday.
Now that is a factor which will effect an election, especially an electorate like ours that hardly knows what is happening beyond our shores. If it hits us very hard and by the next election the ecomony would not have fully recovered, THEN the PN will have a hard time at the election.
A. Attard: Who’s worrying about the PN? I think you’ll find most people’s concern – and that includes the PN – is what happens after the election, not beforehand.
I don’t think ABC’s general gist was that the election of 2013 will be a foregone conclusion. However, it is in the interest of all the parties concerned (the two Parties and all of us really) that the Leader of Opposition be good and mature, rather than immature and presumptuous. I’m still rather upset at his showing in Parliament – quoting newspaper articles in Parliament, sensationalistic newspapers, to boot.
I don’t know what we’re coming to. I (who by a large margin would have preferred Dr. George Abela as leader of the opposition) would never have thought to see a newspaper article being quoted as gospel truth by the newly-elected, fresh-as-a-rose LoO, particularly after Mintoff’s shenanigans in Parliament.
Sadly, JM seems to have forgotten that Parliament and Bubaqra MLP club are two totally different social scenarios. I’m not surprised, however, he seems totally bereft of social graces, diplomacy and general savoir faire (EQ I would say) when it comes to what one should do in different circumstances. So, I guess we’re doomed to five years of “lawrence” and “maltatoday” – Let’s hope that after that, we’ll get five years more of Lawrence (but not of Maltatoday and its attempts at investigative journalism).
Whichever way we look at it, a thirty-three year old (I’m 31) is far too young to lead the opposition , particularly when this particular 33-year old thinks he has the wisdom of a sixty-year old and the statesmanship of Churchill. He’s not even humble, for goodness sake. So, it’s anybody’s guess why he persists in quoting newspapers in Parliament and generally putting on an air of knowing it all.
I just hope time proves me dreadfully wrong. I don’t want to spend election month in five years’ time fearing Labour being elected. I want to be serene with the decision, whichever way it goes. Let’s just hope time proves me wrong.
And who said this won’t happen in Malta too? Hopefully NOT!! The content is very informative, but don’t particularly agree with the ‘title’.
If we should have learnt something by now it should be that things start going bad in the U.S., then they hit Western-Europe shortly after, then northern and southern Europe. These problems didn’t hit us yet, but not because we are recession proof or we can beat the situation, it’s just simply a matter of time. Having said that, I truly hope that Malta will be ready for this turmoil when it comes. Don’t forget that most of us are only two pay-cheques away from being homeless. Just about three weeks ago, Gordon Brown announced that he will enforce stricter criteria with regards to home repossessions. This is part and package of the banks’ bail-out.
Would the Maltese government be able to help out banks if needed? Or would we be able to provide decent accomodation to people who lost their jobs six months ago?
I also refer to ‘Arani Ma’. Yes, Joseph Muscat mightn’t be the most experienced politician. I wouldn’t like to see him in government in the present climate. But most people are forgetting that the next election is in about four years time. By then, hopefully, things will start getting better again-first in the U.S., then Europe. It is then I would give Joseph a chance. We have already given a chance to Lawrence Gonzi, Dr. Fenech Adami, as well as Dr. Sant when things were going great worldwide. None of these managed to take the opportunity of the boom. They had a chance since the early nineties to act. As far as I can remember in all these years, in every budget, all we were told was by how much we reduced the DEFICIT!! This is when other countries, whether in the EU / EEC or not, were IN THE BLACK.
If I’m not wrong, a company that has been in the RED for 18+ years, every year, is declared BANKRUPT. We can’t declare our country bankrupt, so maybe we give another General Manager (Prime Minister) a chance. Joseph Muscat by then will have four years experience as Opposition Leader, and some year as a MEP. No one will question his qualifications.
So please, when talking about experience, don’t forget that the most experienced people (from both parties) in the country didn’t have a good run. Maybe this time we’ll give a chance to someone more energetic then his or her predecessors. I said ’her’ not to be sexist, maybe by then the PN will elect a female leader.
@ Christian – can you please indicate how many EU (or for that matter, World) countries had a surplus in the past 20 years?
My impression is the the vast majority of the countries have been working with a budget deficit. And if you seriously think that in the past 20 years we have seen no improvement, then I am sorry, either you have been living somewhere else or most likely, you do not recall what Malta was like in the “glorious” 70’s and 80’s.
We do should not give anyone any chances if we are not convinced that the person is capable – the last time the some fools gave a chance to a person just because he was new and looked managerial – he made a mess of things (and unfortunately it was not just the fools that suffered.)
Finland, Ireland, France, Germany, Japan, China, shall I continue???
For example, ireland had the first deficit during the last two quarters of 2007 after so many years, and was able to give the banks a garantee of 665BN Euros, as did the rest. No unfortunately I was born in 1981, so don’t remember the era you mentioned. I never said that there were no improvements, but I insist, and it’s a fact that no-one of the last 3-4 prime-ministers if not more, or in that case ministers of finance, managed to show some positive figures. I believe NO ONE really has the experience until he’s tried and tested.
Since the summer of ’98 ten years and another two elections have passed, and we are still waiting for a sign of positive finances. Seriously, if we didn’t manage to even break-even when the money was in abundance worldwide, how do we expect that we will make money now?
All I wish is that Malta, next time round, when things start improving again, will see the light and take the opportunity to really build strong finances.
Christian: The country as a whole is making money, enough to live on and to invest in future growth. The Government, which is only one part of the economy, makes a small deficit, which doesn’t do much harm to the economy as a whole. Incidentally, this is financed almost exclusively by local investors who purchase government bonds and treasury bills.
We do have major economic problems (a relatively poorly educated workforce, low female participation, our fair share of cartels and monopolies) but having a budget deficit of 3-4 percent of GDP is not really one of them.
@Christian
It is not possible to avoid a defecit every year if the social services budget continues to increase very markedly every year and at the same time people clamour for a reduction of taxes and want the subsidies on water and electricity :do you have any suggestions on how the Government is supposed to find all this new money to balance the budget and have no deficit?If you can’t,no new ab initio politician will either!
@ Emanuel Muscat
What politicians are doing in Malta is, they are ‘iduru ghal denbhom’. Be it income taxes, electricity rates, whatever it is, the island needs cash from abroad. It is like running a business. You can fiddle with your budgets and reduce the wages budget to put more money in marketing, take from house-keeping to put it to PR. But, what if you don’t sell your product?
The country needs to sell its products. Why aren’t we attracting enough investment – local or foreign? Why are we still losing larger business delas to other countries like Germany, Italy or Ireland? It is definitely not the wages cost as we are still a lot cheaper. I suspect the initial cost (i.e. land purchase) is the main culprit! Maybe we should come up with some incentive there…
But before attracting more business, we need to make the existing one feasible. Let’s take for example, the tourism industry, which if I’m not mistaken still is the largest industry in Malta. How come there are still hotels closing down? I have worked in several hotels ’round the island, and believe me, most fall short of standard when compared to other hotels in the continent and beyond. Maybe, we should start by reviewing the ratings there. It is still too expensive to visit Malta! Yes, flights are. What is the MTA doing? I believe, they are far from being in touch with what our tourists (customers) expect from us. I say it’s time for better policing, law enforcement and improvement of standards, and stop being the ‘laid back’ country. Then, hopefully tourists will start once again coming back to what once was considered ‘the small jewel in the Mediterranean‘.
We also should hit the nail on its head and target the scoundrels: long term unemployed, ‘single’ mothers and ‘unknown’ fathers, the ‘disabled’ and not fit for work and so on. It’s about time we cut these extra unnecessary costs. Malta is only the size of a small town, and some exercises to close some loop-holes shouldn’t take too long.
Maybe now, that times are quiet and will only become quieter, we start reflecting and act on these issues, so that when money is back in peoples’ pockets, we’ll try to make them spend or invest it in Malta. Then hopefully, with the right measures, we will stop hearing about money shortages. It is about time the country starts making some money again, and only then, we can give our people all the benefits they expect and make an even better country of this island.
[Daphne – Actually, Malta has been attracting large amounts of FDI. There’s been a shift from manufacturing to services. When a factory closes down and 400 people are made redundant, it’s top of the news. But when new IT businesses open and employ 4,000, it doesn’t make the news. So people get a skewed view of reality.]
Attracting some business is good, but is it enough to cover our expenses? Let’s forget politics for a while, and really look into what is needed. The problem with this country is people are still fanatics (or extremists) when it comes to politics. Once we get out of that, we will be more honest with our selves.
[Daphne – The problem is what to do with unskilled semi-literate people. I know for a fact, through my line of work, that there is a serious shortage of pro-active, skilled, literate people who can communicate well with other people, as opposed to with, say, a computer. Good people are being headhunted from one organisation to another. Lots of jobs are being filled by people who are not up to scratch, because employers can’t find the people they want.]
Can’t argue with that, Daphne.
An after thought. If we’re really short of skilled people, what about letting some foreigners (EU members) in? They can do the work we are not able to, and train our local staff in the process. It will also solve our ’empty houses’ problem!!
That’s what was done in Ireland, until it got out of hand and every one was let in the country.
[Daphne – They don’t need permission to work here. Well, technically they do for the next year and a half, but that’s just a formality.]
There is only one answer to ABC’s verbiage – Barack Obama. I hasten to add that I am not drawing any comparisons between the brilliant president-elect and our dull and boring politicians.
“Frank Thursday, 20 November 1922hrs
There is only one answer to ABC’s verbiage – Barack Obama. I hasten to add that I am not drawing any comparisons between the brilliant president-elect and our dull and boring politicians.”
The brilliant president-elect does not seem to have impressed Allah’s jihadi warriors, the Al Qaeda, judging by the string of racist and xenophobic isults they lashed out at him a couple of days ago. “House negro” , no less.
Hey Sybil, you seem to take umbrage at my calling Barack Obama brilliant. Come on, are you a white supremacist or what? I still think that there is no other way to describe the man who ran such a dynamic and eventually winning campaign against all odds. As for Allah’s warriors, well I won’t even comment on that.