An MEP is not an MP
Parting is such sweet sorrow, but I'll be back with a box of Godiva
Four years as an MEP and Joseph Muscat still can’t distinguish between the role and that of a member of a national parliament. Nor can his candidates, one or two of whom seem more than a little confused, talking about ‘going up to Brussels biex niggieldu kontra l-gvern.’
Here’s Muscat, talking about what his people will do in the European Parliament, as reported in The Times today:
“Labour MEPs would bring pressure to bear to ensure anyone who lost their job would be given a bank moratorium on home loans”
Yes, really, a member of the European Parliament, hassling HSBC Bank Malta, Bank of Valletta, Lombard and APS, all the way from Brussels, instead of doing the work they’re supposed to do there.
I’m sorry, sir – but that’s your job here in Malta, along with your MPs (no E).
There’s more, which tells me that Muscat either hasn’t a clue what’s going on or he’s trying to hoodwink all those who never read a newspaper. He gave this press conference yesterday, and so perhaps he hadn’t had time to read that morning’s newspaper, in which it was reported:
The Times, Monday, 4th May 2009
Employers welcome failure of attempt to cap overtime
Employers have welcomed the news that the European Parliament’s bid to cap the number of overtime hours has failed. The collapse of negotiations on the matter is positive news for Malta, the Malta Employers Association said.
So he ploughed right on with his script, which included the boast that Labour MEPs would ensure that:
“employees would be able to work as much overtime as they pleased”
He should get a grip, or get some advisers who read the press and brief him.
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“all those who never read a newspaper”
… and so many of these sadly, contributing to their chicken-head mentality. I hate the blank stares when current affairs come up in conversation. Having to explain to someone “what is happening around them” is always a wake-up call as to why some people’s views of the world seem medieval.
Joseph Muscat is altogether another case (-study).
Please allow me to make some clarifications.
None of the Labour MEPs ever said that they will be working against the government. What they said was that they will work only for the people that vote for them and not for the government’s interests. In other words, one should not expect an elected Labour MEP to be a government lackey.
[Daphne – Exactly how will MEPs know who voted for them? MEPs are there to work for the country, not for Cetta ta’ Grezz li trid bozza jew gopp. Cetta ta’ Grezz has her MP for that. My point here is that Labour candidates and their leader are failing to distinguish between the entirely different roles of MEP and MP. The country is represented by its government, because the role of our head of state is not executive. So when Labour MEPs work for Malta, as represented by its government, they are not working for the Nationalist Party. The trouble is that Labour politicians have been in Opposition so long that they think of the government of Malta and the Nationalist Party as interchangeable, and this isn’t helped by their parochial mind-set.]
Who said that an MEP can’t influence local government policies such as the moratorium thing you mentioned?
[Daphne – Local government is the Mosta local council. What you mean is NATIONAL government. Local is not equivalent to Maltese, Malta or national, despite the fact that it continues to be used erroneously in this fashion by people who do not realise that they are mimicking British residents of the old-style mindset who spoke of ‘locals’. No, MEPs cannot influence the policies of the national government as to whether banks should give a moratorium or not to those who have lost their jobs – for the simple reason that there are no such policies and there can be no such policies. The banks are commercial banks and operate on commercial lines. The government cannot dictate to them on whether to waive interest for those who have lost their jobs. The role of an MEP in Brussels and Strasbourg is not to negotiate with the banks back home on a moratorium for people in a predicament. That’s a job for MPs in the national parliament, but it remains negotiation, pure and simple – in other words, if the banks say no, then it’s no.]
An MEP is part of the parliamentary group of his party and hence he can put forward suggestions that can be part of the local party’s proposals in parliament.
[Daphne – Local, local, local.The European Parliament and the Maltese Parliament are entirely separate institutions and not to be confused. There is no cross-over. Even I can put forward proposals to be made in parliament. That’s why I am represented by an MP. And so can you, through your MP. MEPs have no special privileges in this regard.]
Sur Ellul, I hope you realise Daphne just put you in your place, i.e on the potty where you belong.
He’s giving his supporters the mushroom treatment – keeping them in the dark and feeding them s**t. I still cannot comprehend why a brilliant mind like Edward Scicluna would join the ranks of the Labour Party “because it is always consistent.” Consistently goofing, perhaps.
[Daphne – Nobody with a brilliant mind would ever join the Labour Party, which is why there are no brilliant minds in the party but only very mediocre ones peppered among the outright cabbages. On the immensely rare occasions that you do get a brilliant mind (well….), it comes coupled with severe psychological problems which are the very ones that made it embrace such a ramshackle party in the first place, as we saw to our cost since 1992. So no. The fact that Edward Scicluna embraced Labour given its recent track record and its current state of play means that he does not have a brilliant mind, just an agenda. The man is clever, he’s interesting to talk to, he’s pleasant, but certainly not brilliant – and above all that there are the obvious doubts to be raised about his sense of judgement in allying himself with a party led by a Super One hack, Anglu Farrugia, Toni Abela and Jason Micallef. I wouldn’t even want to be seen at the same lunch-table with them. It would be too, too embarrassing.]
People with brilliant minds usually do not need to venture in politics at all.
[Daphne – That’s absolute rubbish.]
Dear John…..
Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by those who are dumber. – Mr Plato
@Anton
Those who are smart have their vote and they decide the outcome of the elections. We’re talking about some 5,000 floating voters who decide the outcome of each general election.
Democratic politics are all about appearances and licking butts to maintain your status quo. Do you think smart people should waste their lives doing that? I’d rather have them running businesses, developing new drugs and medicinals, design new inventions and so much more.
[Daphne – Each to his own. God forbid that smart people should restrict themselves to X number of fields. The only thing that pushes smart people out of politics is stupid people. Smart people find it extremely difficult if not impossible to work alongside stupid people, so when the stupid and the mediocre flood into politics, the smart people start moving out, hence the Labour Party, with its four clowns Jason, Joseph, Anglu and Toni. Worse still, when the dull and the mediocre predominate in an organisation – be a political party, or a club or a business – they feel highly threatened by the arrival of somebody bright, and cooperate to squeeze this person out.]
Well, the only form of government where a good number of brilliant people can be in power, is technocracy. Such a government is made up of scientists and engineers with “problem-solution” mindsets. You get chosen by your knowledge and intelligence and not by the number of votes. Such a government would be of great benefit to the country, but it would be greatly disliked by people who think that you don’t need high IQ to run a country.
[Daphne – I think we would all prefer to live in a democracy, whatever the nature of the people chosen by electors. So thanks, but no thanks. Who’s going to do the choosing, if not electors? Also, you forget: electors choose MPs. The prime minister chooses the cabinet from among them. You can’t have a country run by technocrats because a country is not a business. It is not run according to the profit motive.]
That’s the reason technocracy is a rare form of government and why the world is in a mess.
[Daphne – The world is far from being a mess. It is the best it has ever been in its entire history – at least, from the point of view of human beings. We have never had it so good or been so safe and long-lived. Also, all this improvement began with democracy, which allowed the development of industry and the vast growth of a merchant class. When rulers were not chosen by the people, the people were in a terrible state.]
So far, democracy has shown that people want an idiot like them to run the country. And this was evidently in America (George W. Bush) and the UK (Tony Blair).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy_(bureaucratic)
@John Meilak
Here is another one who does not subscribe to your theories.
Frédéric Bastiat
http://www.econlib.org/library/Bastiat/basSoph0.html
“Smart people find it extremely difficult if not impossible to work alongside stupid people, so when the stupid and the mediocre flood into politics, the smart people start moving out, hence the Labour Party, with its four clowns Jason, Joseph, Anglu and Toni.”
I agree with you on this one except on the Labour Party bit. I do not think that there isn’t a single intelligent person in that party. Usually stupidity is balanced on both sides of the political spectrum.
“I think we would all prefer to live in a democracy, whatever the nature of the people chosen by electors. So thanks, but no thanks. Who’s going to do the choosing, if not electors?”
No. The people don’t know what is good for them. Science would decide what is good for them and science would choose the best brains to run the country. No bribing, no vote buying or any other cucati. Each chosen technocrat will dedicate 5 years of service (yes, service) to the country.
“Also, you forget: electors choose MPs. The prime minister chooses the cabinet from among them.”
Maybe it is time to change the system. One should contest for a particular post (ex. Minister of Finance, Minister of Tourism, etc) and the people will judge if a particular candidate is suitable for that post.
“You can’t have a country run by technocrats because a country is not a business. It is not run according to the profit motive.”
Technocrats seek solutions to problems and apply them in the interest of the nation and not because Cikku tal-Flangi bribed them to do so. As far as I’m concerned, the current political system produces more problems than it produces solutions. Highly inefficient.
“The world is far from being a mess. It is the best it has ever been in its entire history – at least, from the point of view of human beings. We have never had it so good or been so safe and long-lived. Also, all this improvement began with democracy, which allowed the development of industry and the vast growth of a merchant class.”
I wonder if you’re living on the wrong planet. Each time I switch on CNN or BBC I see nothing but violence, famine, disease, wars, poverty and a load of other afflictions. And you say that the world isn’t in a mess? At least 80% percent of the world population is dying of hunger, wars and disease and yet, you say that “We have never had it so good or been so safe and long-lived.”
[Daphne – I read history. I know for a fact that we have never had it so good. If you think people are starving now, you should gain insight into previous centuries, when the world population was a fraction of what it is now precisely because of war, famine and disease. When did we last have famine and the plague in Europe? I spent some time yesterday morning at the Msida bastion cemetery. Most of the graves there are of children and of adults in their 20s. And that was just 150 years ago.]
“When rulers were not chosen by the people, the people were in a terrible state.”
They were, of course. But it doesn’t mean that we’re any better off. Just because here in Malta, we live a comfortable life doesn’t mean that the rest of the world does.
[Daphne – Even in ‘the rest of the world’ people are better off than they were 100 years ago.]
@Jakov
I’m not a socialist but I do not embrace capitalism either. Personally I detest both. Neither will solve humanity’s problems, because they’re two sides of the same coin and both are driven by the same things: greed and money.
That’s exactly what crossed my mind when Super One announced their 16-point manifesto for the EP elections. They are all national issues and it’s only the Maltese government which can execute them, not the opposition.
And another one who can’t spell, visit http://www.marlenemizzi.com
“I treasure the truth, win loose or draw, above everything else”
Et tu Marlene!
She also wants equal rights for men and ‘woman’ and for women to reach their potential as ‘carrier’ seekers (career).
I thought she’d probably make a good MEP but these mistakes make me cringe. The English on her website is generally poor. I thought she was well-educated. Maybe she has a script writer and she herself hasn’t had a chance to review her own website yet?
[Daphne – Or perhaps it’s just that Joseph Muscat leads by example. This is from http://www.josephmuscat.com:
“I want to hear from you. What do you like and what you want to change in the Labour Party and in our country. What matters you want me to put on the agenda and what are your ideas for a better Malta.” http://www.josephmuscat.com/pages/lc/iseGuestBook.asp
The interesting thing is that the website ‘template’ uses English for headings like My Vision, Video on Demand, Who is Joseph and so on. But then the uploads and updates are all in turgid Maltese – which is just as well, given the lone bit of English, quoted above.]
I find her blue lagoon photo backdrop as odd as her spelling mistakes.. I don’t know, maybe I’m just fantasising here, but aren’t the target viewers of that kind of photo tourists, and so the more exotic it looks the better?
When your target is the Maltese electorate a more ‘authentic’ photo would have been better, electorally speaking. As it is she looks like she is a candidate for an exotic island. What do you think, Daphne?
[Daphne – I think that a lot of people have poor taste and that most of them vote Labour.]
Maybe she had the same English teacher as Anglu Farrugia, whose “hobbies include reading, researching about maltese of abroad and jogging..” ( http://www.anglufarrugia.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=2 )
Or maybe the same English teacher as The Malta Independent journalist who informs us today in bold letters that “All proceedings against Zeppi l-Hafi dropped off.”
Dropped off at Mdina?
Politicians do not need to be brilliant. They just have to be good speakers and be surrounded by good spin doctors and strategists.
[Daphne – Please don’t extrapolate from the Malta Labour Party – not that the good spin doctors and strategists are thick on the ground.]
Since you’re so good at pinpointing brilliant minds, please name who’s so brilliant among the Nationalist Party’s MEP candidates, apart from Simon Busuttil; I guess if Einstein would have joined Labour you would still give him the same treatment…come on, Daphne, admit it you hate Labour and everything that surrounds it no matter what.
[Daphne – No matter what? Hardly. There are excellent reasons – and I don’t hate Labour, at least not since 1987, when we ceased to be known even to the Sicilians – who the Maltese once used to look down on as ‘mgewhin’ – as the ‘malafamati’ of that part of Europe not behind the Iron Curtain. Now I just think Labour is a tragi-comedy, in which the clowns are brought in one by one. A Super One hack as leader, for heaven’s sake. Il-vera ddisprati, ha nghidlek.]
Hate labour? Of course not. They just happen to be their own worst enemies. They can never get it right, whatever they do. Pity, because in reality it would have been nice to have an alternative, but we don’t – so sorry mate, you’re stuck with the best.
Net TV cleverly aired a snippet where one of the MLP wannabe MEPs (so memorable I cannot even recall his name) pledged his support to Joseph Muscat by saying that he would join him for a hamburger. That is the standard of intelligence of the MLP. Instead of cringing at the hamburger slip they try to use it to show they are ‘ta gewwa’. Sad is too light a word to describe these individuals.
I am interested in our take on the sudden millitant side to Joseph Muscat. It seems that since Gonzi checkmated Joseph with the George Abela move (who can they possibly elect as leader after Joseph) the suppressed side of Muscat has come to the fore and his mask has well and truly dropped.
Soon after he was elected he was saying all the right things and although rather green I could see him giving the PN a good run for their money and probably winning. Now I am not so sure. He comes across as a cross between Mintoff and Fredu but with significantly less intelligence.
Who says that Edward Scicluna is a brilliant mind? Yes he is a well spoken person but brillant he is not. I remember him speaking at a CMTU conference at the early stages of the PN administration saying that recession will hit Malta at that time some two years later forgetting that the government buffered that incoming recession with pubic works projects like the Airport Terminal etc. In the subsequent years recession was not felt in Malta. I think a brilliant economist should have known this.
I think Joesph will win the next general election (in which the Maltese elect MPs, for those who don’t know). And then he will spend 3 or 4 years as prime minister of Malta and then he will call an early election because he is incapable of leading his party let alone this country.
1. He does not understand international politics.
2. He thinks all the Maltese love Gensna and Jum il-Helsien.
3. He thinks that his shadow cabinet is new and fresh.
4. He thinks he is Tony Blair.
5. And finally, he thinks of his wife as ‘din’.
If anyone reading this wants to add more he can do so.
Re “He thinks he’s Tony Blair” –
He’s actually got something in common with Cherie Blair, who broadcast the information that her youngest son was conceived at Balmoral, because she did not pack any “contraceptive equipment”.
Joseph Muscat, on the other hand, in one of the first newspaper interviews he gave after being made MLP leader (remember the photo – Pampers in hand, at the MLP headquarters?) said that one day, he’ll show his twins where they were conceived.
[Daphne – Well, let’s hope it wasn’t the kitchen table or a petri dish. They might be traumatised.]
6. His twins are called Etoile and Soleil.
6 was a miaow miaow, although it brings back memories of ”A boy named Sue” remember guys, the great Johnny Cash?
So ……and for number 7, we have:
Small but too big for his boots.
8. No style, in fact bad taste.
9. No depth to his arguments. Shallow.
10. Espressjoni u wicc tad-daqqiet ta’ harta …
He delivers sermons.
… which he very obviously practises in front of a mirror
D, I have to say it, ” what a w====r ” which goes hand in hand with what Amanda just commented. (Pun intended)
At the risk of being charged of seeking publicity for my blog, there seem to be others who are unable to tell the difference between the election of MPs and MEPs.
I’m referring to the Electoral Commission which is claiming that Norman Lowell is allowed to stand as candidate. He would — for a general election — but probably not for an EP election.
http://malta9thermidor.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/which-amendment-is-that/
I don’t know why they shouldn’t let him stand as a candidate…. after all wasn’t the Mangion DNA talk inciting *political* hatred?
Something much more serious if you consider the past of the MLP and their popular support of say 47-49%. compared to Norman Lowells 0.~someting% & his one-man-counter-protest.
ha ha talking about hatred on this blog. Saying that blacks smell is wrong, but saying that half of Malta is cabbages is hideous. If this country had anti-hate laws which are not applied only on racial matters, Mrs Caruana Galizia would be writing articles from Kordin. (And I’m not saying that DCG should be jailed, ghax ghandkom habta iddawru d-diskors, malajr tibghatuni nsaqqi l-hass tal-Korea ta’Fuq).
Even PN is translating the MEPs into agents of national politics – Pn has told us we need MEPs who in Brussels support the NATIONAL government. U ijja li jghidu ta’ Gunzi kollu tajjeb ux? Dawk superhumans.
[Daphne – Ding dong bell. Supporting the national government means supporting your country, and not supporting the Nationalist Party. Hence, Joseph Muscat’s failure to support the Maltese government during the Malta-Italy immigrant stand-off, descending into partisan division instead, can only be considered perfidious towards his own country.]
n.b. Looking forward to see how you’ll edit my comment in order to make me look like a lunatic Maoist or a racist pig, dear mrs Caruana Galizia.
[Daphne – I don’t edit comments unless they are obscene or overly personal. And don’t use ‘dear’ when it isn’t meant. It’s so naff and says so much about your social background. Not that you’d care about that sort of thing, of course. You can always hang around with the crowd at Gensna.]
Ganni, use ‘sweetheart’ instead – it’s not naff, just plain daff. It would also elevate your social standing.
[Daphne – You misread me, Kevin. So I shall spell it out: the sarcastic use of all terms of endearment, especially ‘my dear’ – which appears to be used sarcastically only by up-and-coming Labour women – is naff. Therefore using ‘sweetheart’ sarcastically is naff, too. So as not to be naff, you must say exactly what you mean: bitch, bastard, cow, swine, and so on.]
Gianni, PN isn’t infallible, no party is .. some more than others.
Also there is a difference between the irrational fear/hatred of a group of people and the teasing of people who do stupid things.
One dehumanizes a certain group of people, but the other makes fun those people.
tikber u titghallem ux, issa jekk xi darba nikteb xi ittra fuq it-Times nghidlu sweetheart editor, ghax Daphne hekk ghalmitni nikteb. Issa noqghod naqra dan il-blog forsi nitghallem ma nibqax hamallu laburist kabocca bil-genital warts (dawk x’tghidilhom bil-Malti Daphne? Peress li tifhem f’kollox forsi taf din ukoll) u nsir tal-high class bhalkom. Grazzi tal-parir kev.
@Crocker. So Lowell’s “jokes” are acceptable because he just makes fun of people who make stupid things such as crossing over to Europe on a karretta or staging a coup against every government they have?
One of Goebel’s tactics was indeed that of making “jokes”.
[Daphne – You people are just so crass.]
@Ganni a.k.a kabocca number 124.432
“So Lowell’s “jokes” are acceptable because he just makes fun of people who make stupid things such as crossing over to Europe on a karretta or staging a coup against every government they have?”
Lowell’s jokes? They aren’t jokes. That is the way he brings forth a message, in the style of a joke. That’s what made him popular in the first place and what made young people ‘like’ him & go to his meetings.
And of course, you could always bring a reluctant friend along with “ejja nidqhu xi dahqa”, coming out of that meeting hating black people with a passion.
As a contrast, he picks on people out of his irrational fear/hate of black people. I don’t fear/hate you for being Labour, but I might hate you for what you say and that makes a big difference. I rarely talk politics with friends who support Labour. Why? Out of respect – that’s how much I ‘hate’ Labour supporters.
Norman Lowell’s type would say don’t talk to blacks, don’t hang out with them and make them feel unwelcome. Is that a joke? Did DCG or any of the commenters here say that about Labour supporters? That Labour supporters deserve social exclusion? No.
Staging a coup against a government? Are you talking about the speech about the Royal Opera house?
“That will be the last miserable act of his miserable government?” – Norman Lowell
If you think thats a joke, you must have a few screws loose.
“we are proud of you DR.JOSEPH..we have a youth leader…wow….staff all you”r gelousey…all the p.n”
hmmm…knock knock….I’m still waiting for the brilliant minds on the PN side….
[Daphne – Brilliant minds tend to be behind the scenes and not up front. What is required up front is competence. Here’s the difference between a Nationalist government and a Labour government, as far as a significant swathe of electors is concerned: no matter how furious we might be at any move or measure made by a Nationalist government, we still retain the underlying confidence that overall there’s a good plan and they know what they’re doing. With Labour, you get the creeping or in-your-face feeling that they don’t know what they’re doing, but making it up as they go along, and so you feel unsafe.]
11. He thinks he is the messiah and that he will die for us (il-Laburisti).
Eric! knock knock wake up. The question is not about brilliant minds but about competence on key issues.
Social: Simon Busuttil – well in a league of his own and probably the next PN prime minister in a list of great statesman, something so desperately missed by the MLP – well not really missed given the way they voted in the leadership election.
Environment issues: Can you in any way question Alan Deidun’s knowledge and stand on issues.
Business issues: Many can’t stand him but speak to small entrepreneurs, particularly those that did not benefit from school beyond 5th Form and they will tell you that Vince Farrugia is a competent and reliable go-getter. A competence that is so important in EU institutions
EU affairs: Edward Demicoli, Tedesco Triccas and to some extent David Casa.
The rest have other competences in important areas but above all, contrary to many of the MLP candidates they can string a number of rational sentences together.
12. poodle
Are we missing the wood for the trees?
…or the case of the missing “E”…like in Elle PEE
“E” for electoral success, eagerness to Win the upcoming MEP, Local Council and later the General election…at any cost.
…through his “end to the means” sophisms.
“…There is more to life than the excessive unbridled one-upmanship, where one pursues an end regardless of the consequences around him. The world has come a long way, in recognising the need for order, fairness, justice and equity in all our pursuits. Even in competitive activities, the protagonists have looked back in perspective, and appreciated the aesthetics, and the processes that led to the success of the winner…”
Daniel Onyango
Today, Joseph has had a field day…he has had Barack Obama follow in his footsteps…insomma Joe Biden too!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5283002/Barack-Obama-takes-motorcade-on-trip-to-satisfy-fast-food-craving.html
As much as I would like to disagree with you Daphne, unfortunately for Malta, the LP is led by a bunch of cabbages. Malta is in dire need of an opposition that would hopefully some day be able to govern – wishful thinking.
I do not think that Gonzi and his party are doing a very good job, their performance so far leaves a lot to be desired. The opposition are miles away from being capable of doing anything better. So, being left, I am left (excuse the pun) with a nagging question – where do I go…
lean towards PN…maybe but not sure yet
lean towards PL…nah
lean towards anyone of the remaining miniparties…nah
In the meantime, I will continue focusing on what is crucial- that is, earning a decent living, enjoy life, read and help this country by spending a reasonable amount on eating out, buying books and electronic gadgets.
Except that Obama is in the USA where burgers are a national dish (!). But to go to a country like Italy, with the best food in the world and relish a burger…………….well…. speaks tons about the poodle. And comparing Obama and Poodle? Come on guys, chalk and cheese!
http://scagozo.com/blog/?p=2364
Daphne, you seem to have a bunch of experts writing on this blog supporting you all the way, always crying against the Labour Party. Is there anything right in the Labour Party? Is the Nationalist Party perfect in everything he is doing?
[Daphne – In English, unlike Maltese, political parties are ‘it’ and not ‘he’. Sometimes, they are ‘they’, but not when you begin your sentence with ‘is’ rather than ‘are’. This also applies to the government, which is so tiresomely referred to as ‘he’ all over town. Also, ‘crying against’ is a literal translation of ‘jibku kontra’, and doesn’t make sense in this context. Now let’s get down to your questions. 1. No. 2. No.]
@C Fenech
You should take some criticism with a pinch of salt. The PN is not perfect, but well past its time in government. The Labour Party have another four years to prove themselves, and ironically the only way is up. For the PN, the only way is out.
[Daphne – You know, that kind of attitude is strategically a bad idea. Also, what you’re saying is that the Labour Party is going to win by default because the Nationalists have been in government for a long time, so basically people would be prepared to elect anything at all for the sheer sake of change.]
After several electoral defeats it seems Labour and its followers learn absolutely nothing. David Ellul’s comment is typical. Even before the last election, the only way was up [Daphne – I really wish they would stop using that phrase. It sounds like something from a corny Carry On film, or an advert for Viagra.] and yet the party machine mismanaged the whole campaign and lost.
After the 2003 election nobody would have given PN another term in office and until six months before the 2008 election few would have put money on it. Yet when the two political parties, their visions and probably most importantly their leaders and the team they had were weighed by the electorate PN was given another term and Labour lost.
After a bit of soul-searching the Labour Party got back on its feet but continued to make the same old mistakes with the same old people. So now we have a ‘NEW’ Labour with a new leader but with deputies who are far from new and far from what those electors who matter really want.
When you hear the Labour leaders speak about winning and taking over government, without any vision as to what to do afterwards, this makes you think that what these people really want is just to win – as though governance was some trophy to be won.
And now we have the EP elections, and Labour candidates and their leader speak as though they are God’s gift to Malta and Europe. Just today I was hearing a young hopeful speak about how good Europe is for students and how much one can achieve… I truly cannot believe how one could run for the European Parliament on the Labour ticket and speak like that.
I found myself shouting at the TV: “Oh, now you realise! You almost had us out of the EU a couple of years ago saying it’s hell on earth and now you tell us there’s so much to gain – bongu!”
The real test of any political party, of any candidate, of any leader is when the going gets tough. In the run-up to the EP elections both parties and their candidates will show their true colours and it is important for all of us to follow and take note so that when we go to vote we can do so as informed citizens. Someone once said that a country is led by the government it deserves. Malta deserves not only a good government but with just five seats we need to have the best possible people representing us in the EP.