Oh, for crying out loud
Great balls of fire! (I stayed up into the early hours last night, watching Gone With The Wind, and learned that the emphasis in ‘Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn’ is on give and not on damn.) As God is my witness, another man in a wig is going into party politics.
The Sunday Times, 28th December 2008
GRTU boss expected to run on Nationalist ticket
Ivan CamilleriVince Farrugia, director general of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, GRTU, is considering entering the political field as a Nationalist Party candidate for June’s MEP elections. Sources in the GRTU and the PN confirmed his intentions; however, when contacted, Mr Farrugia did not commit himself, although he did say he was interested.
Mr Farrugia, 64, told The Sunday Times that his first loyalty remained with the GRTU, although he admitted that running for the MEP elections was “one of the options currently being promoted by others,” stopping short of mentioning names. Asked directly whether he decided to join the political fray as a PN candidate, Mr Farrugia would only say he believed he still had a lot to do at the GRTU and he had the support of practically all its members to carry on.
At the same time he admitted that a job in Brussels also interested him: “It is true that the European Parliament interests me and it’s a logical extension of a career like mine. I know I can be a very effective member.” When pressed, he confirmed that many were approaching him to contest. “It’s an issue I have to decide in consultation with many people. I will decide when I’m sure it’s the best for our country and for the people I love. Then it’s up to the voters and the Almighty. At my age, it will be a great honour to serve my country as an MEP,” he said.
Earlier this month, Mr Farrugia was decorated with the state’s Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika by President Eddie Fenech Adami for his work at the helm of the GRTU for the past 15 years. The Sunday Times is informed that Mr Farrugia’s candidature will not be made public before the GRTU’s next annual general meeting scheduled for mid-January.
Mr Farrugia’s candidature is considered to be a controversial one by many PN insiders due to his political background. However, sources close to the GRTU said Mr Farrugia’s decision had the approval of the PN leadership, including that of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. A convinced Europhile who openly backed Malta’s EU accession in the 2003 referendum, the GRTU’s boss is also considered as one of the main contributors towards the PN’s last electoral defeat in the 1996 elections with his crusade against the introduction of VAT.
Mr Farrugia’s political baggage includes close collaboration with former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff and other prominent Labour ministers in the 1970s and early 1980s. At the time, he was entrusted with many sensitive positions in that administration including that of chairman and chief executive of the National Tourism Organisation.
During his career, Mr Farrugia has also been appointed by both Nationalist and Labour administrations on the board of various government agencies, including Mid-Med Bank, Bank of Valletta, Maltacom, Go Mobile as well as chairman of the Mediterranean Film Studios. Currently, Mr Farrugia is also a board member of Malta Enterprise and the Building Industry Consultative Council.
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Daphne, I think you’d be interested to know that today I have received a FaceBook friend request from someone called Daphne Garuana Malizia….. and his URL is shown as http://daphne4dummies.wordpress.com/… but I think you know about this site already.
[Daphne – God, yes, those losers. On the one hand they tell everyone to ignore me. On the other hand, they go to sleep and wake up thinking about me, quote in great detail from articles I wrote 10, 11, 12 years ago – something even I, the person who wrote them, wouldn’t be able to do – and spend huge chunks of their waking hours writing about me, deconstructing various pieces I’ve written and trying to gain psychological insight into my personality. I don’t know what it is about me, but I’ve attracted stalkers and obsessives, male, female, sexual and non-sexual, from the age of around 14.]
This is really good news. At last my very good friend Vince seems to consider something other than his beloved GRTU. For those who consider him a good friend, as I DO, they will know that Vince will give his all. Daphne , you may not agree with this, but Vince will do this with Malta and its Sme’s as his driving force. At least we will have a real voice in Brussels to complement Simon’s and the amazingly ineffective RCC who only has time for malta’s Big Businesses and not us tac-cekcika. Vince is honest at least. Too many funds and opportunities for SME s have been lost because Dar Malta couldn’t be bothered. The attempted double cross in 2004 on medicines registration to favour the big fish over the small fry is a case in point. I know he is a good friend Daph, but like Vince he has good and not so good qualities. I’m happy for Vince because he never stops giving and is the most selfless individual I know with his time and ear . Judging him by his hairpiece is simply puerile Daph and u know it. Do we judge gays because they are gays for example ? Its time u saw things a bit differently.
[Daphne – Mario, homosexuality does not affect credibility. Wigs do, when worn by men. Secondly, homosexuality is neither a choice nor a decision. Wearing a wig is. You might live on a different planet to the one I live on, but on this particular planet, wigs affect men’s credibility. If Vince Farrugia thinks he is going to march into some Brussels negotiating chamber wearing that thing on his head, and get people to listen to him rather than to concentrate on not staring at it, he’s in cloud cuckoo land. I think he’s got too used to being in Malta, where people blank it out because they’re used to him, just as they did with Sant. It’s not going to happen elsewhere. And I have to ask – why in God’s name does he feel he has to wear it, anyway? Too many hang-ups there for me to be comfortable with, sorry.]
Oh come on, Daphne, don’t give me that wigs story. Vince is not Fredu, and I have seen him in many a Brussels negotiating chamber, and believe me, no one gives a damn. Why should they, when half of the Brussels bureaucracy is so kinky that it would make a porn producer blush with shame at his inadequacy?
I’m sorry, in my book being openly gay affects your credibility immensely. That’s a fact, and it’s no use running away from it.
[Daphne – That may be the case in Zurrieq, Mario, but don’t extrapolate to the civilised world.]
And no, although we live on the same planet, we don’t move in the same circles, do we?
[Daphne – That’s right, we don’t. In my world, when men start going bald, they shave the rest off or just crack the occasional joke about it.]
“If Vince Farrugia thinks he is going to march into some Brussels negotiating chamber wearing that thing on his head, and get people to listen to him rather than to concentrate on not staring at it, he’s in cloud cuckoo land.”
He’d be fine, Daphne. MEPs are quite used to Barroso’s toupé anyway. And should VincePN be elected EP president wouldn’t they make a fine pair? Besides, wearing a squirrel on your head has a fashion-statement quality. Just look at how former US congressman James Trafficant wore his:
http://www.dailynugget.com/images/traficant.jpg
And this is what happens when it gets alarmed:
http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/z/J/jamestraficant.jpg
[Daphne – It does look like a squirrel, actually; he’s now wearing a reddish one.]
This is probably old hat, but anyways:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBdEXeDYQ1g
And, by the way, contradiction of the year 2008 goes to Mario Debono’s, “In my book being OPENLY gay affects your CREDIBILITY immensely”. No wonder MD thinks that wearing a toupee is hip.
[Daphne – Yes, I know; so being a closet gay gives a man credibility. I guess what he means is that if no one knows, then he has the credibility that all (?) heterosexual men have. The video wasn’t old hat to me. Thanks – I started the day with a loud laugh. The first toupee in shot, the one on a stand, is actually a dead ringer for Vince’s.]
Hmmmmmm….
The more time passes things get ever more interesting within the Nationalist Party. Seems like the glue, put in place in the late 70s, which has been holding together this strange coalition of left and right wingers, catholics and abortionists, trade unionists and capitalists, large businesses and small retailers, is finally coming a bit lose.
The crash will be great.
HiHi
[Daphne – There are abortionists in the Nationalist Party? People with secret illegal clinics and blood-stained white coats?]
Min se jigwadanja? Fl-opinjoni umli tieghi, la Mr. Farrugia, la l-PN, la l-GRTU, la l-parlament Ewropew u lanqas Malta! Ma nafx jien!
[Daphne – Jekk jitla, Farrugia ha jigwadanja zgur. Ghandu erba u sittin; ma jistax jibqa mdendel mal-GRTU; wasal biex jitlaq jew biex jghidulu biex jitlaq. X’jista jaghmel? Isib impieg x’imkien iehor? Jibda prattika tal-konsulenza ta’ dik l-eta? Jiddispjacini nghid li l-elezzjoni tal-MEPs saret qisa bejn ‘elephants’ graveyard’ u ‘dustbin’ ghal dawk li ma jistghu jaghmlu xejn izjed, u li jaraw il-kariga bhala mezz li bih persuna minghajr talenti li tista taqla paga medja biss hawn Malta tista minnflok tirkeb il-gravy train. Hemm xi eccezzjonijiet, imma fil-kaz tal-bicca l-kbira tal-kandidati, hekk hu il-kaz.]
@ DCG: “quote in great detail from articles I wrote 10, 11, 12 years ago” – where do they get all these articles from – some archive?”
Could it be a party-sponsored propaganda blog – they did claim that the PN won because they made good use of the net in their election postmortem.
Don’t want to nit-pick since you were polite enough to answer mat555 in the language of his choice but you may want to correct something you wrote – Vince Farrugia is probably closer to 64 than 46… although I may be wrong, wigs do make people look younger – or so the wearers hope :)
[Daphne – I’ve corrected it. That’s what happens when you do six things at once….]
You may be right.
Daphne it’s ‘erbgha u sittin’ I guess. I don’t blame you for the confusion. I always pause for a second before deciding on a number in Maltese.
@Mario debono
I am under the impression that you own an SME and hence an employer. Saying publicly that gays are less credible than straight people may be a case of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. If I were you, I would be more cautious on what I say.
[Daphne – I’ve corrected it. I was thinking of something else at the time, probably laughing at that bad-toupee music video.]
Antimony – I do own an Sme and am an employer……and I don’t give a damn. Given a choice between a gay person and a straight one, I know what I will choose. So sue and be damned Sir…..go on, do it. I have many gay friends, and they know how I feel about it. I’m not about to change what I feel for the sake of today’s political correctness.
And Daphne, don’t be so patronising about Zurrieq, will you? I’m proud of being its son, and its not the hellhole you think it is. Far from it. Why did you leave your Sliema hunting grounds and go to Bidnija anyway? As if being from somewhere’s got to do with the argument. I have the privilege of having tasted all facets of Maltese society, from the lowest to the highest, and believe me, there is rot in all strata, but I don’t throw away the tree.
[Daphne – I’ve nothing against Zurrieq, but using sexuality as a criterion for choosing somebody for a job – rather than, say, intelligence, aptitude and trustworthiness – is kind of backwoods thinking.]
And if Vince does get elected, he will not leave his employ at GRTU. That’s a fact.
[Daphne – Guess he’s one of those who eats with many mouths. Xi dwejjaq ta’ bniedem. You don’t trust homosexuals. I don’t trust men without a sense of humour. It’s not a good sign. Wit is a reflection of intelligence. Absence of wit is…]
Good one Daphne. Out in these here backwoods, us rednecks are your graatest funs, we like to cook from your book, every time you make it, and we love reading your musings as well.
Awww, tough luck if you dont like my views on homosexuals. I dont trust them, you say. What can I say? Coming from you, it must be a shining gospel truth, musnt it? There is nothing witty about what you and I feel, I’m not going to try and change you, dont worry!
If you are referring to your intelligence, yes, some say that i possess the intellectual capacity of a particularly stupid cockroach. Long may they think this way. Hekk irridom!
[Daphne – I don’t trust men without a sense of humour. It’s not a good sign. Wit is a reflection of intelligence. Absence of wit is…]
Is it not possible for men to have wit and a simultaneous sense of humour?
Nonetheless, I agree that absence of wit cannot be desirable.
However, what parameters are responsible for the perception of wit in any person?
The question can also be put in following way:
how can one distinguish between a simple sense of humour and a more sophisticated wit?
[Daphne – Hi Leo. I specified ‘wit’ rather than ‘sense of humour’ because lots of people seem to think that Fantozzi and Benny Hill are funny, but that doesn’t make them intelligent. Wit is almost always dependent on perception and insight into a person or situation.]
@Daphne:If you’d like to know where the homosexuals , and transvestites meet come over to a bar in “the backwoods ” of Zurrieq on a Saturday evening.Would you tollerate them in your backyard?
[Daphne – Eventually, I might resolve one of the big mysteries of my universe: why do intolerant people spell tolerance and all its derivatives with two ls? I repeat: I do not think of homosexual people as ‘them’, and I do not think in terms of toleration when it comes to homosexuals. It is actually people who think, talk and write like you who test the limits of my tolerance and who I regard as impossibly different, too different to understand, and from an exotic culture. Some time back you were defending Muzew classes and how important they are for children. I’m sorry, but if you are the result, those classes have failed.]
I never went to them there museum classes daphne my mother never trusted them because It was unnatural for young men to be celibate without any vows at least . And these were the back woods circa 1975. So what does that make me?
[Daphne – A St Aloysius boy whose mother went to St Dorothy’s, as I did, and who probably shares my suspicion for the same reason.]
I encouraged my children to go to Muzew here in the backwoods. No regrets. If I were Mario’s father I would have agreed with his mother, not to send him to il-Muzew, because those were different times.
Today, children need to meet in a good environment. Il-Muzew is an ideal place. BTW: you are intolerant to men with wigs, or little hair on their heads.
[Daphne – Your last remark is a complete non sequitur. Besides, most of the men in my family go bald in their 20s, and they don’t wear wigs.]
@ Daphne: Ok , granted you don’t like men wearing wigs.
So JM’ hair style is not covered by this statement.
Li x-xaghar kien zina ma’ kienx jikber f’ta’ ………..
I hope you know how the saying goes.
[Daphne – No, I don’t know how the saying goes because I come from an urban family background. The ‘sayings’ of the port area are different to those of rural culture. I’ve noticed this with nouns and verbs, too.]
Correct your geography please. Zurrieq is not in the port area although we are a maritime village we have the beautiful Wied.
[Daphne – You’ve understood the opposite of what I meant, Mario. I am from the port area, which is why the sayings coined and used in rural areas like Zurrieq, using agricultural terminology, are alien to me. And probably, the sayings of the port area are alien to people from Zurrieq, too.]