The ego versus the organisation
As more present and former politicians emerge to sulk and stamp their feet in public – the latest are Joe Psaila Savona and Michael Bonnici, in letters to The Times which that newspaper quite understandably turned into a news story, and now Franco Debono’s childish behaviour in parliament – the thought occurred to me that this kind of individualistic thinking and ‘ferrets in a sack’ behaviour is the result of a political scene dominated by lawyers, doctors and architects.
I may be way off the mark here, but I think the fundamental problem is that the vast majority of our MPs, on both sides of the house, come from professional backgrounds which have not helped them to understand the concept of working within an organisation.
People with a work background in organisations – whether it is the military, an international charity, a pharmaceuticals conglomerate or even just a straightforward products distribution company in Malta – are drilled in the understanding that the interests of the organisation come before the personal interests of any individuals who work for it.
It is made very clear to them that anyone who is not prepared to cooperate in this understanding has no place within the organisation.
Even those who start out with very different ideas come to see the wisdom of this: pursuing the interests of the organisation will ensure its survival (a good thing); but pursuing the interests of those who work within it will bring about its deterioration and possible collapse (a bad thing).
I cannot imagine a large corporate office packed with people sulking and slamming doors because they haven’t got the promotion or pay rise they demanded, refusing to cooperate because they are in a bad mood and not turning up for meetings or insulting and undermining the chief executive because he isn’t doing what they want him to do.
A quick analysis of the various sulks and temper tantrums on public display among politicians reveals a common factor: the failure to understand that an organisation is not there to satisfy the personal desires and ambitions of the individuals who operate within it, but to ensure its own successful survival so that its essential objectives may be achieved.
This applies whether we’re talking about the army, a soft drinks manufacturer or a political party.
Political parties of whatever stripe are the most afflicted of organisations because unlike the army they cannot court-martial their recalcitrant people and unlike soft drinks manufacturers they cannot fire them or issue warnings.
We only have to remember Alfred Sant’s Vigilance and Discipline Board and how that came across to the rest of us. We didn’t like it. We saw it as evidence of totalitarianism rather than an attempt at getting a political party to run like a proper organisation.
We like our political parties to be democratic on the inside as well as the outside. But democracy is the worst possible way to run an organisation. One can argue that the financial services collapse of the last year or so was the result of a too-democratic approach to lending and to rewarding the individual within the organisation, to the point where the whole thing became unsustainable.
Individual needs and desires were put before what should have been paramount: the successful survival and growth of the organisation and the industry.
For political parties, this conflict between democracy and efficiency in the running of the organisation is a perennial conundrum. The democratic process of election will not guarantee the best possible party leader – as we have seen. Nor will it give the party the best possible secretary-general – as we have seen.
There appears to be no solution, because leaders and secretaries-general cannot be imposed on the party. It would speak ill of the party’s approach to democracy. But at the same time, the wrong leader or secretary-general is a major source of the ills which afflict both parties in Malta, leading to much time and energy being consumed through fire-fighting situations which would never have cropped up had the parties been run like any other organisation.
The problem is compounded by the fact that politics is a magnet for the self-centred and selfish, for people with large egos. This is the most basic reason why, the world over, there are far more men in politics than there are women – but it is the most overlooked reason.
Some politicians like to argue that they are in politics because they are selfless. Whoever they are and however nice they might be, they convince nobody. The truly selfless work for charities and receive no public acknowledgement and very little reward of any sort except the knowledge that are they helping others.
Some of these politicians point out that they have forgone a potentially lucrative career in the private sector to focus on party politics, and this means they are not driven by money. What they fail to mention is that when it came down to the choice between money and no power or public acclaim on the one hand, and power or public acclaim but no money on the other, they chose the latter.
Life is all about choices.
Of course, the feeling that you can make a difference to people’s lives is a factor, too – but it seems to me that anyone who wants to make a difference to people’s lives and who starts out by campaigning for a seat in parliament, then going through the circus of election, and then sitting for years as a backbencher and perhaps never becoming a cabinet minister, let alone prime minister, is taking rather the long route to making a difference to people’s lives.
Managing an organisation in which so many people are ego-driven and with such a high sense of personal entitlement – and in which nobody can be fired or issued with warnings, no matter how bad the behaviour or how dangerous they might be to the organisation – cannot be anything other than a hellish nightmare.
The only thing that comes close is the entertainment industry, with its stars and its legions of others in hot pursuit of stardom, throwing their weight around and demanding to be up there on the silver screen.
But actors and singers are attractive and entertaining and their personal lives keep us endlessly amused. The same can’t be said of politicians. In the end, we just look at them and think: ‘How tiresome. It’s not about you. It’s about us.’
This article is published in The Malta Independent today.
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quote:”the thought occurred to me that this kind of individualistic thinking and ‘ferrets in a sack’ behaviour is the result of a political scene dominated by lawyers, doctors and architects”.
Quite correct.
Hardly any full-blood, full-time politicians.
Any ego-driven populist, who sides with one of the main political parties, has a good chance of becoming a member of parliament in Malta.
Any successful person is “ego-driven” – and being populiust is one of those irregular verbs Bernard Wooley loved to talk about.
I listen to the legitimate concerns of my constituents.
YOU play to the gallery.
HE is a populist demagogue.
Once again, Daphne, a feeble attempt at apologising the enexcusable. Unsurprisingly, you try to disparage these individuals by trying to imply they have no background in the way organisations work and thus are unloyal, self-centred etc. Yet, for a person who I always admired for turning an argument upside down and giving us an ‘alternative’ view on things, in this case you are being myopic. Let me spell it out to you then. This dissent emanates because of lousy leadership. Our handpicked PM and his judgement of being surrounded with utterly incompetent and preposterous aides has created so much bad blood around that he can never be judged objectively.
You are always so spot on in your analysis, yet you fail to consider this.
[Daphne – Perhaps I have a more acute perspective on things than you realise. Any situation which gives individuals disproportionate power draws out their worst instincts. The quality of leadership has nothing to do with it. Even the best of leaders doesn’t stand a chance if his underlings are more powerful than he is. You can count on the fact that some of them will use this power for their own personal objectives. It’s human nature, and the only thing that can counter it is proper discipline and an education in correct behaviour while they are growing up. After that, it’s too damned late. If you have a situation in which a government has a one-seat majority, then you can take it as given that a few MPs whose ego is larger than their commonsense are going to use the situation to blackmail the prime minister or bend him to their personal will. It happened in 1998, as I recall. It hasn’t happened to other governments within memory not because they had leaders more brilliant at creating unity than this prime minister or Alfred Sant, but because those governments had a greater majority than one seat and so could tell recalcitrant MPs to go and fuck themselves. There is a certain kind of person who will always abuse situations to his advantage. If a situation is open to abuse, then it will be abused. Eddie Fenech Adami was not better at unifying his party than Gonzi is. On the contrary, he did what had to be done and had an aide to do it for him, sometimes with ugly consequences. But his MPs couldn’t chuck their weight around when they didn’t get what they wanted, because they couldn’t keep the government hanging by their one seat. So they were told, pretty much effectively, to – that’s right – go and fuck themselves. The cultural distinction between you and me appears to be this: you believe that grown-ups are not responsible for their own behaviour (an MP behaves disgracefully, and the prime minister, not the MP, is to blame) and you also appear to draw no distinction between an MP who refuses to vote on a matter of principle and an MP who refuses to vote because he doesn’t want his rival – of the same party – in parliament, in case it reduces his own personal power in his constituency. Where I come from, that kind of behaviour is considered absolutely disgusting and self-seeking, and nobody is to blame except the MP in question.]
Only half the story. The character of the leader plays a part – a vital one. Mintoff and Fenech Adami both went for a full legislature with a one-seat majority without the slightest hiccup. And that was because – whatever you may think of their policies and actions – they were real leaders, who fought for the leadership, won it on their own merits and were capable of imposing their will.
[Daphne – No, Twanny. In 1987 nobody would have dared rock the boat because the situation in the country was what it was. As for Mintoff, he exercised control in every area of his life (private as well as public) through fear, violence, bullying and intimidation and became one of the most hated men in this country’s history.]
Strange (or perhaps typical) that they made the same mistake; hand-picking their successor and making an abysmal choice.
[Daphne – Lawrence Gonzi was elected. Ask John Dalli.]
There are elections and then there are elections. Ask John Dalli.
[Daphne – I think you have your work cut out asking Joseph Muscat – and Lino Spiteri.]
And the most loved – depending on your point of view.
Twanny, many Labourites ‘love’ Mintoff only to spite Nationalists. He was the one who brought down the Sant government, made EU membership possible and condemned Labour to at least 15 years in opposition. It was his last act as a politician, his farewell gift to Labour.
When the Labour Party had one seat majority, and Dom Mintoff as leader, the biggest hiccup was when Alfred Baldacchino crossed the floor from P.N to M.L.P. ignoring his party and betraying his constituents.
Well actually 1987 – 1992 was a 1 seat majority, but the nightmare regime of the 1980s was too close for comfort.
By the way Jean, next time you write I do suggest you keep a grammar book close by –
“apologising the enexcusable”
“Let me spell it out to you then. ”
“This dissent emanates because of lousy leadership”
“Our handpicked PM and his judgement of being surrounded with ”
English is the most important language in the world by far, and we are lucky enough to have had it handed to us on a plate by history so that it is now our language too. Do try and make the most of it.
If the ’80s regime was such a nightmare, how come the PN won by just a little over 4,000 votes?
[Daphne – Because people here lived in total ignorance, Twanny – and I mean total ignorance.]
“Because people here lived in total ignorance, Twanny – and I mean total ignorance.”
And after 4 and a half years, where the difference between a serious government and a bunch of savage goons could be seen, Eddie Fenech Adami’s government was returned with a massive majority!
“Because people here lived in total ignorance, Twanny – and I mean total ignorance.”
Come to think of it, that was probably one of the principal reasons for KMB’s vicious attack on education in 1984. I suspect he wanted to control what people could learn – kind of like people behind the Iron Curtain being told that Russia was the land of milk and honey.
Antoine, you are starting to sound like a blue version of Manwel Cuschieri.
[Daphne – Not at all. Antoine is an extremely sharp man. Manwel Cuschieri, on the other hand, is pig-ignorant and clearly has the IQ of a drugged tortoise.]
Your pet story:
Thursday, 17th December 2009 – 10:44CET
Former chief justice files appeal
Noel Arrigo
Former chief justice Noel Arrigo has filed an appeal against his jail sentence.
Dr Arrigo was jailed for two years and nine months on November 26 after being convicted of accepting an €11,500 bribe to reduce a jail term of convicted drug trafficker Mario Camilleri, known as l-Imnieħru.
Once the appeal is decided, the sentence can only be confirmed or reduced, not increased.
All those involved in the corruption case, including former judge Patrick Vella, were jailed. Dr Vella, who admitted to accepting €23,000 in exchange for reducing Mr Camilleri’s jail term, was sentenced to two years in March 2007.
Dr Arrigo contested the proceedings tooth and nail from when he was first investigated in July 2002. During the trial, he admitted he lied to the police during interrogation to derail the investigations.
And sure enough….
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091217/local/former-chief-justice-files-appeal
Veru pastazun dan il-bniedem. Is anyone here going to tell us to stop discussing him now? I am beginning to think that he’s actually enjoying the limelight.
Tha Maltese political scene has always been dominated by architects, lawyers and doctors. I can follow your argument here Daphne but it is rather weak. The problem is probably much deeper than what is being witnessed in the media.
It is the result of a cultural change, where individuals within a party/organisation consider themselves to be prima donnas. Their behaviour is driven by super egos.
As the most senior PN figure from the 1970s-80s still active today, Louis Galea was made speaker of the house because he surprisingly failed to keep his seat. He will also probably get a seat in the by-election but given his background and stature – including running for the party leadership in 2004 – he won’t resign as speaker unless he gets a major ministerial post. In a 1-seat majority all MPs may think they have the game in their hands, but the real play-making remains between the three contenders for leadership in 2004 – Gonzi, Dalli and Galea. Now that’s something to chew on.
So, without putting (too much) blame on the PM….who is responsible for actions of subordinates within an organisation?
You would probably understand that human behaviour changes dramatically within a group. What Franco Debono is doing can be viewed as ‘courageous’ by some; on the other hand he might also feel he has a responsibility towards his constituents.
[Daphne – How does one serve one’s constituents’ interests by weakening the government for which they voted? And how do you serve your constituents’ interests, as opposed to merely your own, by stamping your feet when your personal demands are not met?]
What is sure is that the situation is getting messy and is very bad PR. What is positive about the whole situation is that this is exactly what the NP stands for ….freedom of expression.
[Daphne – We’re not talking freedom of expression here. We’re talking really bad behaviour, crassness, vulgarity and egomania.]
Well, Mintoff served the whole country and future generations too, in 1998.
Having said that it was, I’m sure, a case of cutting off his nose to spite his face, something we Maltese have made an art of, as he was the epitome of “really bad behaviour, crassness, vulgarity and egomania”.
“I cannot imagine a large corporate office packed with people sulking and slamming doors because they haven’t got the promotion or pay rise they demanded, refusing to cooperate because they are in a bad mood and not turning up for meetings or insulting and undermining the chief executive because he isn’t doing what they want him to do.”
You’ve obviously never worked in a large corporate office… happens all the time.
[Daphne – I don’t know where you’ve worked, but in all the offices I’ve had dealings with, constant insubordination and direct insults to the CEO are grounds for dismissal.]
Probably mixing up corporate office with large government department!
Gonzi and/or the PN are not Franco Debono’s employers. His constituents are.
[Daphne – His constituents voted primarily for the PN and for Gonzi to become prime minister. Their vote for Franco Debono was secondary – no, actually tertiary.]
Li gara lil Fredu qed jigri wkoll lil Dr Gonzi llum.
Fredu didn’t have the guts to stick to his guns, while Dr Gonzi ghandu biex ibiegh.
Meta trid tqabbel bejn 2 leaders trid tqabbilhom meta jkunu fl-istess sitwazzjonijiet.
Dr Fenech Adami kellu maggoranza ta’ 5 siggiejiet, filwaqt li Dr Gonzi u Fredu kellhom maggoranza ta’ siggu wiehed.
Imma x’differenza bejn Fredu u Dr Gonzi!
Side note: nispera li din mhux xi manuvra ta’ Dalli biex ipattiha lil Dr Gonzi qabel jitlaq. Qed jinqalghu wisq cw..c li mohhhom biss fil-gwadan personali milli fil-posizzjoni li gvern jinsab fiha (Int. crisis etc)
I totally agree with Jean.
I too think you are great at analysing things in a sharp and objective way without holding back on saying what you really think…. however this time, you must come up with something better or else admit it does not suit you to be this way, this time round.
I really dont wish to offend you, but from an objective angle, this is the type of article that supports the rumours about you having hidden agendas, or being engaged by others etc….
May i suggest you focus your skills on the many other issues that you are silent about, such as the power station bubu or the huge fuss about Piazza of St George Pullicino, seen by some as a distraction to more important problems.
back to the point ….
after trying to refresh my ideas and seeing your point by reading the various definitions of leadership again and again…… this is really the issue, how can you disagree!!!
A bad leader perfectly justifies the current situation. Infact the classical sign of a bad leader is when the team members stop acting in the interest of the team…. (also like labour before the government collapsed once the problem matured enough)
PN is heading the same route and needs to regain the people’s confidence. At this point is seems like there is so much to hide that the usual tactics are not working.
Just look at the pathetic attempt to cover up this whole Debono thing, when they told you he was asleep or that he was late!! Aren’t you angry they sold you such a cheap crap excuse?
Also, given that the problem seems to be with more then the 1 majority seat and if self-seeking behaviour is fuelling all this, what guarantees do we have that the ‘non-rebels’ are not just doing the same?
After all they are the ones with loads of questions to anwser about unjustified costs, illogical contracts, personal favours and what have you…..
It would be really good if you focussed your talents on uncovering the truth on the abovementioned dilemmas and speculations…. if it is uncomfortable to you to discuss certain issues, better don’t then give the impression you are failing in your mission.
[Daphne – If I have no mission then I can’t possibly fail in it. No, it is not a question of poor leadership. The situation is a lot more complicated than that, with far too many vested interests, in-fighting, the departing minister determined to scuttle the ship he never got to lead, at least two people who have revealed themselves as having severe personality disorders in possession of a seat in the house, and others determined to grab what they can as they see this as their last chance. When assessing a situation you have to look at the entire picture – not just the five or six squalling MPs but the tens of others who are simmering with rage at them and who are desperate to give them a good kicking but of course can’t do that. Then you have the Labour Party winding up people like Franco Debono – hasn’t it clicked with you yet that Debono walked out when the Opposition proposed Louis Galea as chair of a select committee? That was the vote he abandoned. Why did Labour propose Galea – because they think he’s fantastic or because Joseph Muscat was in Franco Debono’s class at school and knows his personality weaknesses?]
Our political situation is losing any British influence or traits it had, and it is becoming more Italian – chaotic, egoistic, and where personalities try to be stronger than the political parties themselves.
[Daphne – Mur arana b’xi coalition.]
Maybe this could be addressed by changing our electoral system from a first-past-the-post system to a party-list proportional representation system. If every MP owed his ass to the party and depended on the party’s performance to get into parliament then he might think twice before acting recklessly.
[Daphne – Bit difficult, as our constitution does not recognise political parties.]
Another desirable effect would be to have a general election result in a few hours instead of days. The system is not perfect of course (it might make it even harder to have new faces in parliament, depending on how parties decide to set up their candidate lists) – but I am sure it can be tweaked to our specific needs, perhaps limiting its effects by integrating it into our electoral district system.
Interesting correlation between professions – lawyers, doctors, architects – who are attracted to the political tribe and other professions/occupations who would not touch politics even with a barge pole. Another interesting genus worthy of an anthropological thesis is the “political hanger-on” – committee member, canvasser, helpers, paid up party membership card holders – who seem to sprout like fungi in the run-up to elections. An interesting sub-genus is the “minister’s driver” and the messenger at the private secretariat. All in the name of selfless service to democracy. Studying them would keep some academic happy for years.
Prosit. Very accurately explained. However I think that an intelligent and able leader would be able to avoid having things reach this stage. Ikun kapaci jxomm! I do believe that you are more than right that the “xtaqt inservi” solemn declarations are the biggest lies. They only serve to put people off.
Daphne…Didn’t Fenech Adami’s party have a one seat majority after the 1987 election?
[Daphne – That’s right. I realised that after I’d written my comment earlier. But there was no way anyone was going to behave like a twat and threaten the prime minister in 1987. For a start, the mood in the country wouldn’t allow it. And they were just so glad to be government that nobody was going to rock the boat. Now it’s a case of spoiled-kid syndrome, taking government for granted. If the ‘disgruntled MPs’ are unhappy as government backbenchers, perhaps somebody should explain to them how much worse it’s going to be – if they carry on like this – being backbenchers in opposition. They obviously have no experience of it.]
Whether they carry on like this or don’t they are still all going lose anyway – and that the point – they know they are going to lose the next and are now venting their spleen and leaving a leaking ship well before the storm sinks it.
When a Labour back-bencher challenged Sant, you claimed that Sant was no leader. Correct. When a PN backbencher defies Gonzi he is labelled a deserter and a bad team player!
Interesting…
[Daphne – Is that so, Edward. What I said then is what I still say today: that Mintoff was and still is a bloody bastard, the sort of bloody bastard who is prepared to scuttle the ship in which he sails for the pleasure of spiting its captain. The fact that his actions led to EU membership for Malta (and boy, does that amuse me) is by the by. It doesn’t make him less of a poxt.]
Interesting that a one seat PN majority has brought about more instability than a Blue-Green coalition would have. No green would have ever behaved like this. This is the government you so desperately wanted…enjoy the ride. and merry xmas.
[Daphne – ‘No green would ever have behaved like this’. That’s right, Edward. Don’t get me started.]
Daphne – Way back on 17 March last year, a week or so after the elections you wrote a paragraph about Franco Debono. Unfortunately no one seems to have got through to him that he was looking like “a pompous ass” .
How prophetic you were.
[Daphne – I’ve had a couple of slip-ups, but on the whole reading people is like learning a language. Alarm bells should always go off when a straight man in his 30s lives with his mother, for a start.]
I said it then and I repeat it now: what did Zurrieq do wrong to deserve all this?
[Daphne – Um, that you got what you voted for, and landed the country with a problem?]
Yes, here in Zurrieq opportunists who were supposed to be real good friends of Helen Damato shifted their allegiance and went to ‘help’ Franco……after he won, naturally. Everyone makes mistakes; at least he didn’t get my number one.
Our beloved village didn’t really elect Franco Debono, but many voted for him because he was perceived to be young and fresh, as opposed to the staid Louis/Ninu/Helen choice we have had for ages, since 1982 to be exact….well, Helen a bit later. Franco comes from Ghaxaq, and Gudja and Ghaxaq voted for him en masse; he was one of their own.
However by all accounts no one knows Franco this way before the election. He certainly was enthusiastic, and there are little or no alternatives to him in the district. I blame the PN. In 19 years, they still haven’t repaired Valletta Road in Zurrieq, and have done little or no infrastructural works.
In the beginning, Michael Falzon the minister didn’t want to do anything because his parliamentary secretary Ninu Zammit was from that district. So he pointedly did nothing, absolutely nothing, to help us in Zurrieq. It’s only when Ninu became minister that he found his calling, that is, restoring roads, chapels and whatever he could lay his hands on.
When Ninu was minister, he found his niche, and lots of restoration works were done, against all odds. You have to hand it to him. This time around, the district has no minister, and the district hates not having a minister. In all my years of observing this microcosm, I have seen the huge shifts to PN in the 5th in 1987 and 1992. Any analyses would immediately conclude that the biggest shift to the PN happened in the 5th District in 1987. But no.
This district always was “fejn halla l-karkura ix-xitan” . All we have to show for the Fenech Adami years is one ghastly fountain that ruined the village entrance. When Gonzi made Ninu a minister, the work started. People in the 5th see these things. There are also many people in this district whose main aim in life is a government “jop” so that they can skive. And old habits die hard.
Franco unfortunately has these pressures, but he needs to take a long hard look at his responsibilities. So yes John, we have done lots to deserve this, but the PN governments have not even given us the time of the day. Yet we are stalwarts.
Mario, Zurrieq is in shambles because we have a local council which is not functioning. Valletta Road has become the joke of these last 10 years. There are other roads which are dangerous: Hal Far Road and Qrendi Road come to mind.
Now I’m not some big fan of Austin Gatt but you have to give the devil his due. Things seem to be moving in our area: the Hal-Farrug Road was a blessing and the road from Siggiewi to Girgenti and the one from Girgenti to Rabat were done thanks to Minister Gatt. Now Valletta Road is going to be done by this same minister – I know because Franco Debono sent us a letter from parliament informing us that he asked a parliamentary question about it.
As if we will be eternally grateful to a spoiled brat who rocks the boat incessantly.
Thanks Austin, Lawrence, Louis, Helen and Ninu: at least you try to keep the boat steady.
Mario, we are ta’ wara l-mini. You will notice that no embellishment takes place on our roundabouts. The only embellishment project which took place was done by Ninu without Mepa permits. I have to say that the second phase of the Wied Babu project was better than the first one. Helen was the one who built the Berga tal-Gvern. Louis built the pitch with artificial turf.
I think Louis should be health minister and Helen speaker, we need more women in politics.
Hot news: ADT just informed us that by the 10th August 2010 Valletta Road will be ready.
I hope that the alternative roads will be given a much needed resurfacing before works start ,especially Qrendi Road.
I’m starting to like Austin; he’s a doer.
Oh no not another Francis Zammit Dimech. It is very amusing how these grown up men who can’t seem to let go of mummy’s skirt think they have the credentials to run a ministry or a country!
“The only thing that comes close is the entertainment industry, with its stars and its legions of others in hot pursuit of stardom, throwing their weight around and demanding to be up there on the silver screen”
Isn’t politics Hollywood for ugly people?
Of course you are right, Daphne. It is the cub scouts who do similar things. When reading between the lines of certain former MPs’ articles in the newspapers, you have the same scenario.
Saying the grapes are sour because we cannot reach them.
It’s a ” jew nilghab jew inhassar ” case. Similar to that done by Dom Mintoff in 1998.
Year should read 1996.
[Daphne – No, you were right first time: 1998.]
Dr Sant was at Mintoff’s mercy since 1996. Mintoff’s ”nilghab jew inhassar” style existed since his introduction to politics. even when playing a game of ”bocci”, with friends of his. Then in 1998 Mintoff handed the government to the PN only because he disliked, or even worse, he hated, Dr. Sant.
I remember when Mintoff used to hold ‘corner meetings’ in Fgura: he used to insult Dr Sant.
Imma Sant ried lil Mintoff johrog ghax ried akkost ta kollox jitla’ u ghax jaf li ghal hafna cw..c Mintoff ghadu Alla taghhom u lilu biss jivvutaw.
Imma insomma, mn’Alla kien hu ghax kieku ma dhalniex fl-EU.
Daphne, that the prime minister and his wife had to go to the home of a back-bencher late in the evening to appeal to his better judgment is very serious indeed. Dr. Gonzi is a very smart and seasoned politician and I do not think he overreacted.
[Daphne – What that told me is that Franco Debono is clearly unwell and that summoning him to the prime minister’s office was not an option. And by unwell I don’t mean a head-cold.]
Obviously the skills of the whip and the phone calls from the part loyalists were insufficient to instill a clear understanding of his responsibilities. Dr Debono, behaved like a prima donna. He has to put his constituents before his selfish ambitions. His actions did cast a serious doubt on him and on the government. If he didn’t like the PN’s electoral programme why did he run for election on the PN ticket in a heavy Labour district? What happened to the oath he took, to be loyal to the party?
A seasoned politician would disclose publicly that he disagrees with the PM on a particular parliamentary vote at hand but he would vote for it because the interest of the country and government come before his opinion.
[Daphne – His point of disagreement was not the vote but Louis Galea.]
I wish Franco Debono a get well soon and a Happy Christmas.
Possibli hadd f’dal-blog minn dal-ghorrief kollha m’ghaddielu minn mohhu to wish Franco Debeono a get well soon except me ? Did we arrive to a point where we’re so stuck to power that we don’t care about the health of an individual?
[Daphne – Perhaps it’s because we have worked out that his problems are not cured by antibiotics and a nice rest in bed.]
I know, I know – I was just fishing.
‘Democracy is the worst possible way to run an organisation’ Too bloody right. It’s also the worst possible way to run a country and has in fact resulted in about 50% of the populace working/paying taxes and 50% of it essentially lounging and scrounging.
However, Daph, that’s the way it is and we have to lump it. As you frequently remark nowadays, we have to be really careful who we vote for, i.e. which candidates. Thanks for the nod to charity workers. I assume that includes NGOs that help the disabled get the quality of life they deserve.
You would prefer a Colonels’ Junta, perhaps? or the Mullahs? Or maybe an Oligarcgy?
I always thought that the PN supporters only paid lip-service to democracy, but it’s nice to have it confirmed.
[Daphne – No, what we would prefer is to have the Labour Party – for once in our lifetime – run by somebody who is psychologically normal. When that happens, wake me up. The one you’ve got now is as weird as his three immediate predecessors. There’s something not quite right there. I suspect we’re talking narcissistic personality disorder, big time.]
Maybe he eats babies for breakfast, too.
Twanny
“You would prefer a Colonels’ Junta, perhaps? or the Mullahs? Or maybe an Oligarcgy?”
Or maybe a Mintoffian regime with an MLP junta, GWU mullahs and the Dockyard oligarchy?
Twanny – you are assuming incorrectly which 50% work and which 50% scrounge.
As for me preferring a dictator – talk about the pot and the kettle! Malta only ever had one modern dictator: Dom Mintoff a.k.a. is-Salvatur (lol). In a deep irony, he did save Malta – from the nutters called Lejber, whose uselessness Daphne constantly points out (not that it’s going to convert some people, you for example).
It is documented fact that only Mintoff ever ruled with an absolute minority – so who pays “lip service” to democracy? It is undocumented fact that Mintoff once said “nigi nitnejjek mill-kostituzzjoni” (when in power, naturally). There is NOTHING Lejber can teach me about democracy.
My thesis that democracy is not the most efficient form of government holds for whoever win the election but you had to twist it into something partisan – typical!
Chris, you did not say that “that democracy is not the most efficient form of government”. You said (and I quote word for word with added emphasis) that Democracy is THE WORST POSSIBLE WAY to run an organisation’ Too bloody right. It’s also THE WORST POSSIBLE WAY to run a country”.
That can only mean that you consider a dictatorship to be a better option. Unless, that is, the word “worst” has changed its meaning since I last used it.
Be pedantic if you like Twanny – or maybe you’re just thick?
My point is that democracy allows everyone who can to put spokes in the wheels of whoever is in power. Hence, it certainly makes managing an organisation inefficient and similarly a country.
Dictatorship is much more efficient at carrying out the policies of who is in power.
Do you get it now?
“You would prefer a Colonels’ Junta, perhaps?”
That is pretty much what we had in the 80s, Twanny boy!
Chris, I note that you corrected – or rather explained – yourself. The bluster was not necessary.
As is often the case, Twanny, one has to explain oneself slowly and carefully, so that people understand. Unfortunately, I often make the error of thinking that others are up to speed.
You seem to have understood the bit about Malta’s dictator who couldn’t give a toss about the constitution though. Good!
My strong belief is that the kind of behaviour indicated as not likely to occur in organisations does occur in many organisations. And I think it is a widespread phenomenon too. Human nature is what it is irrespective of whether one operates within a group or otherwise. The main differences are in the way it is done, how it is managed (or mismanaged) and the eventual outcome.
It is an interesting hypothesis though.
Having said that, I do wish that some of our representatives in parliament would act in a more mature and tactful manner.
Lamp. Daphne is referring to business organizations. You screw up and you’re gone. Full stop. I’ve fired many people over the last 30 years exhibiting the abysmal behaviour of these children.
Excellent – succinctly put; loved the vernacular “GFT” classic…
For those who don’t understand the situation: we voted for a young MP because we were fed up with some old faces and what we got was an MP who did what he was always good at: poaching.
It is an open secret that this arse-hole used to poach clients from fellow lawyers by asking for reduced legal fees. He poached Louis Galea’s and Helen D’Amato’s votes ( they were busy in the ministries). His adversaries were not the MLP candidates but the PN candidates in his district. His modus operandi was uncovered when he gloated that he won in Louis Galea’s district.
Now that John Dalli will be resigning from his parliamentary seat we will probably have Louis Galea back as an MP. He doesn’t want Louis to resign as speaker.
As the saying goes: “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know”. Next time it will not be him. It will be Helen or Louis.
” His adversaries were not the MLP candidates but the PN candidates in his district.”
Wake up and smell the coffee. That happens in EVERY election in EVERY party.
Twanny there are limits, this guy went round spreading rumors that Louis Galea was to become president. He did not get lost sheep to the PN fold he simply targeted the easy voters of his colleagues while they were busy doing government work.
This trick was used by Dr Joe Mifsud (MLP) against Dr Guze` Cassar during some electoral campaign. Cassar had the time to react publicly against these false rumours. So one can compare Franco to Joe Mifsud (MFA), you know what you get.
Lino Spiteri worked hand in hand with Hyzler; they were both MLP candidates. I can’t remember what happened when Lino tried to campaign without Hyzler in the Qormi area, but I believe both were eliminated. It took years for Hyzler to accept young Lino’s apology.
Dr Gonzi stess qalilna biex nivvutaw ghal-ucuh godda…heqq
The difference between being part of a business organisation and an MP lies in the fact that with a business you can be fired by the boss, with little consequence, while an elected MP has this notion that his allegiance is to his electors and not to his party. Of course these egocentric MPs should dwell on the fact that they have no chance of being elected were it not for the party ticket.
The case of Josie Muscat proves this point. He was the PN’s champion in the 3rd district. There were those who thought that the PN would lose all 4500 votes without Dr Muscat on the PN ticket on the 3rd district. His Allianza party polled about half that amount of votes from all of Malta.
In my view Dr Gonzi should not be the one doing the chasing but the one giving Dr Franco Debono the ultimatum. Step out of line one more time and you will no longer be on the PN ticket in the next election, much less a minister. True, Dr Debono may bring down the government but his political career would be well and truly over.
Also the difference between the one-seat majority now and in the 1987-1992 legislature was that the PN was in government after 16 years in opposition. No Nationalist MP would have even dreamed of destabilising the government then. The PN has now been in government for over 20 years, so some indiscipline is bound to creep in.
Even Maggie Thatcher, the Iron Lady, had rebellions. So it’s not a question of weak leadership, but of egocentric twerps who have very faint memories of what the PN endured during the 1971- 1987 years of terror.
Whatever the outcome, Franco Debono has underrated the consequences of his outburst. Unless he shuts up and makes up for his mistakes, he will soon become a one hit wonder – depending where he hits. A close relative of mine voted for him to spite Louis Galea. This was the worst decision she ever made.
Today, even for Nationalists, the party has become a problem and not a solution. What do I care if the party loses power or that the people, who are causing problems, now have a problem. Call it a ” new equality “.
Dear Daphne, it is very simple, Dr. Gonzi seems to have lost control of his parliamentary group and the government. There is only one way out, resign and call a new general election.
[Daphne – Dream on, Carm. The only people who are saying that are people like you, who voted against this government or didn’t vote at all.]
I did not vote against the government or abstain but I tend to agree that Gonzi is not running such a tight ship at the moment, unless there is some method in all this madness.
Dawn ghandhom xi hang over u qed jahsbu li ghadhom jghixu fi zmien Sant. U mhux hekk
The only way to straighten out this ungrateful lad is for his own constituents to hold a meeting with him present and give him a colossal dressing-down.
Sure, he must have had a few personal votes but not enough to upset Louis Galea, and besides, how could Louis Galea have managed to turn off voters in his district? By not handing out favours? And if he did not, being a minister and with so much influence in the party, how is Franco Debono, a Johnny-come-lately, ever going to help his constituents’ cause? Not now, anyhow!
For the prime minister to be looking after so many serious national issues compounded by the recession, attending meetings in Brussels, Copenhagen and God knows where else, something like this is irritating and the last thing he needs to worry about. Any doubt about his leadership and his stamina?
Franco, enjoy what’s left of the current term because your own constituents will certainly think twice before they give you even their last preference vote next time.
I think the pr people in the PN are working hard laying the groundwork for the man’s comeback. Sometimes, isolation and inexperience can lead to poor judgement. I’m sure Dr. Debono is very conscious of the embarrassment he caused the party and the prime minister.
Dr. Gonzi has once again proved his mettle in paying a personal call to Dr. Debono’s residence. I’m personally intrigued though how the Super One people got tipped so quickly because such meetings are usually brief. I think this might be a good opportunity for the PN to maneuver itself out of dissent and to start building bridges again. Perhaps we’ll see a better politician emerging out of this scenario. When the worse comes to the worst, things can only get better.
Daphne, the news that Franco Debono loathes Louis Galea came as a surprise to me. Personally, I think Debono should look up to him after what he went through under Mintoff’s reign. I still don’t understand why Debono wouldn’t show up in parliament to vote just because Galea chaired the select committee.
[Daphne – No, it was a vote on having Louis Galea (as speaker) chairing the committee. The Labour Party proposed him, obviously to upset Franco Debono, and getting the result it wanted. Debono was stupid to play right into Labour’s hands. He hates Louis Galea – I’m surprised it’s news to you – because he seems to have made a point of seeing him as his arch rival for election. In fact, Debono made a point of specifying publicly, after the general election, that he ‘ousted a minister’. You can imagine how well that went down. Now he doesn’t want him back in parliament when Dalli resigns his seat.]
I can see someone not attending a particular social event, but the business of parliament affects us all and it’s not a social event. Frankly, I don’t see the connection, after all isn’t Louis Galea the speaker of the house. What does Debono plan to do in the future with Galea in the House?
To me a visit by the prime minister to Debono’s home is alarming news and should not be taken lightly. I think he took Mrs Gonzi with him because he wanted to have her talk to Franco’s mother, an influential figure in his life. The prime minister felt maybe forming an alliance with his mother would ameliorate the brewing problems.
[Daphne – I agree that it is alarming. It is alarming that Maltese people, like American rednecks, will vote for anything that moves. And at the risk of annoying lots of people, I’m going to have to repeat this: if a straight man lives with his mother in his mid-30s, alarm bells should go off. It’s not grounds for refusing somebody’s candidature, but it’s certainly a reason to anticipate problems along the line.]
The prime minister has his work cut out for him in running the country and fighting the Opposition.The PN machine should get involved now and do whatever it can to see this awkward situation doesn’t get out of control with every member.
A lot of progress has been made in the last 20 years. I fear the worst in 2010. I just hope I am wrong.
And yet we still get people on timesofmalta.com leaving comments saying that Franco Debono is courageous, putting his country and district first, standing up for the people, refuses to let Gonzi ruin the country, honest, not corrupt (implying that everyone else is) has strong principles, etc etc
[Daphne – Those are the elves in Labour’s communication cave, which is now run – most appropriately – by one of the seven dwarfs, Kurt Farrugia.]
This little weasel has a lot of growing up to do. He needs a slap on his backside and to be sent early to bed. Joseph Muscat and Franco Debono are both of the same mould. They don’t really care about politics or their country. They just want to be big shots and we deserve better than that.
Daphne—incredible, you’re always right! Dalli is leaving and guess what! His place might be taken by a lawyer, architect or doctor. My opinion is that you can’t have these professionals who have a busy practice and who are then expected to deliver in parliament. It is just not on.
This is a case of wear and tear. The PN has been in power for a long time transforming this country from a rogue state run by psychopathic despots to a country which deals comfortably with other nations and allows its people the right to determine their future within a wider choice perspective.
This is a concise overview which doesn’t do justice to the reality that this transformation has cost the nation years of violence, a couple of lives, critical decisions and momentous institutional changes. Obviously Franco Debono was not around and he cannot understand the hard graft that made this happen. He takes this for granted. And longevity does make people take things for granted.
The silver lining of all this passes through the possibility of an early election. I would welcome this development because it will be an opportunity to clean the Nationalist Party from such egocentric individuals and will also show the serious inadequacy of Joseph Muscat an even harder core egocentric negatively compounded because of his limited grey matter. Unfortunately people need to lose something to appreciate its value – this happened in 1996 and it will happen again.
Kif jghid il Malti ‘Telalghu gahl rasu’ jew ahjar ‘Libes qalziet u hara fih’
Does anyone think that a man of Gonzi’s stature would risk losing face by openly visiting the residence of a potential turncoat and political non entity, together with his wife, if circumstances were not deemed to be extraordinary… and by extraordinary I do not mean the fear of losing a job. As Daphne aptly suggests there is more than the eyes can see. Gonzi has shown considerable stature by disregarding the potential political fallout and acting in the way he did.
About this twat we have to ask Louis Galea, Helen D Amato, Herman Schiavone, lawyers who practise in court, journalists and the list goes on. His behaviour and approach is egocentric, in his career, socially and politically…postu mal-Labour dan.
Ahjar ma ttiehx ideat ma jmurx jivvota maghhom. Nispera mhux jaqra dil-blog. U ahjar ma nkomplux nghidu aktar kontrih ghax malajr jaghmel xi wahda biex jisfida lil kulhadd, ghax donnu ma tantx jahsibhom dan Franco.
Daphne – “His point of disagreement was not the vote but Louis Galea.”
Now the pm has dismissed that there was any issue whatsoever. Quoting from The Times: “”I needed to see his family, I needed to see him. I went to see two other people yesterday. I wanted to see him for personal reasons,” Dr Gonzi said when asked why he went to Dr Debono’s home with his wife Kate on Wednesday evening.
Dr Gonzi denied this was a cry for attention on Dr Debono’s part and stressed that the MP eventually did turn up in parliament to vote on two motions that were then passed with a government majority.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091218/local/there-is-no-political-crisis-pm
A little off topic guys but this article about swine flu and the sudden change of heart by the dept of health is, well, chilling: http://malta-exposed.blogspot.com/2009/12/tamiwtf.html
This is hilarious – http://johnpisani.net/kronaka/?p=3338
Who is John Pisani?
[Daphne – I believe he writes for L-orizzont.]
I can see a theme here – chickens coming home to roost.
Appointing a judge but ignoring his background ends up with having a messy chief justice. Selecting election candidates with the sole purpose of garnering votes, while ignoring their ethical backgrounds, leads to these operettas.
This is turning into quite a PR disaster for PN not to mention Franco Debono, not too dissimilar to the Tiger Woods story.
[Daphne – Tiger Woods? If Franco Debono has had sex with 12 women, please let us know. Not that it makes a blind bit of difference, given that a man can’t cheat on his mother.]
Neither party seems to want to clear the air and come out with a clear explanation of what is going on within the parliamentary group, and the longer they avoid explaining the situation or pretending that there is no issue the more rumours spread and more doubt sets in.
Daphne, I do not buy your spin on the story that Labour pushed FD into this situation – all he had to do was vote against the amendment, however he chose not to vote. To me that implies that the motion itself was not what led him to “abstain” from voting. Similarly your initial spin that FD was sick seems to have been off the mark too.
[Daphne – I don’t spin, sugar. I write. I didn’t say that he’s sick. I said that he’s unwell. Work it out for yourself. And yes, Labour is pushing Franco Debono into behaving the way he does: by manipulating his weaknesses. He is to blame by capitulating, but those who can’t see Labour’s transparent machinations are more than a little silly.]
You seem to be observing the PN line that this a non-issue.
[Daphne – The parliamentary vote is entirely a non-issue. The issue is Franco Debono’s erratic behaviour. It is Labour which is spinning away, playing on the ignorance of its supporters who don’t know the difference between a vote of confidence/financial vote and something like this. ‘Kwazi waqa l-gvern!’ I heard a keen Super One listener say yesterday. Well, if they believed that tosh about Switzerland in the Mediterranean, they’ll believe anything.]
While I agree that this is not a parliamentary crisis yet, it’s a clearly a big fracture within the typically united PN facade which will undoubtedly fuel further speculation and rumour.
A lesson to get rid of those who found themselves in the political realm because they are populist…the PN needs the likes of Karol Aquilina and Gordon Pisani. Get rid of the young professionals driving flashy cars.
[Daphne – The PN already has Karol Aquilina and Gordon Pisani.]
Tonio farrugia – perfect-
I agree with you that our political class is very much a function of lawyers, doctors and architects.
But I don’t think that’s even half as worrisome as the fact that some of the loudest ones seem to have never spent some time working abroad. Perhaps they would have realised that being a politician is secondary to doing a good job. And not the other way round.
There is an article in The Times in which Debono denies that his action had anything to do with Louis Galea, and points out that the two votes he missed were not important ones. The full interview will be in tomorrow’s paper.
Wonder if he will really give the reason or will we still be none the wiser?
I very much agree with your analysis that many of the people (mostly men) come from the wrong sort of professions. In fact the great majority of our politicians are either lawyers, architects or doctors.
I think that this is a result of the ‘politika tal-pjaciri’ where all of the above professions usually have at their disposal an office where to meet clients (read future constituents) and give them the odd favour of a free consultancy. From the point of view of the constituent it is always good to have in power a minister from your constituency in case you need the light in front of the house fixed or the pavement in front of your doorstep fixed in time for the daughter’s wedding. No wonder the country is in such a mess.
Ego? Franco? He has a very humble background, especially his mother.
[Daphne – It is quite possible to have a giant ego and come from a humble background. The two are not mutually exclusive. And what exactly does his mother have to do with the price of eggs? Men in their 30s should have cut the umbilical cord a long, long time ago.]
She has a unique capability of turning a gloomy situation into a comic/pleasant one. Her improvisation is faster than that of a folk singer. I am sure that he is not a mummy’s boy at all, although she can provide him with some brainy tips, he is very independent, in fact he has his own home in another village.
[Daphne – That sound is me, sobbing in despair. Do you even begin to realise what a pathetic cliche this is? A man in his mid-30s, with a girlfriend – or so I’m told – living with his mother but with a house of his own in another village for….what, exactly? U hallina, jahasra.]
Tiger woods ehh? I bet Franco can beat him anytime to par.
[Daphne – Where would he take them for a shag? Ghand il-mummy meta tkun rieqda? Fil-karozza? Or that other house in another village?]
Ego? And if so, what do you expect, from a village that produces ‘masons, plasterers and floor polishers’? He has all his bloody legitimate reasons to do so. Come on ‘Bagio’ we’re proud of you.
Xejn m’ahna kburin bih l’Ghaxqin!!!!
Happy festive season to all.
[Daphne – Mhux ta’ b’xejn dizastru z-zwiegijiet Maltin, hanini, bl-irgiel ta’ dan it-tip.]
‘Tiger woods ehh? I bet Franco can beat him anytime to par.’
Kif taf dan kollu int? Jaqaw??
Just to note that a village of 4000 ignorant plasterers will be churning out 10 doctors in the coming years.
I can qualify that because I am one of them and I personally know most of them.
Is Franco Debono, politically, a dead man walking and will he get dumped at the next election? Or is he not, given the fickle reasoning of electors who have already labelled him “miskin” which one of the most misused words in the Maltese language?
The Pullicino Orlando saga of the last election springs to mind: with the info available at that point in time, on which electors could form an opinion, he was elected from two districts. Maybe his weepie taht it-tinda and rookie journalist behaviour during the TV press conference had something to do with it.
Whenever the next election is held, some PN backbenchers will have to be cut down to size, but I despair given the lateral thinking adopted by the electorate.
I wonder what’ll happen if Joseph Muscat ends up with a parliamentary majority of 1 and the elephant man or anyone else for that matter gets uppity?
[Daphne – He can use a tranquilliser dart.]
Do you agree with the words of this L-istrina song ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8viZcUD5XW0
Yes, then be generous and give money to bring in more illegal immigrants into this country. Always, according to the song.
Don’t complain to me, I did not write or approve the song.
Then you ask, why people are leaving the party or cause problems. Its very simple, we hit a brick wall.
[Daphne – Because, er….the Nationalist Party wrote the L-Istrina song? I don’t follow your reasoning. Also, the Nationalist Party is not right wing. If you are right wing, switch to Labour.]
Excuse my ignorance, Daph, really. But what would PN’s side be then? To be honest I thought they represented the right-wing.
Luca
[Daphne – Not at all. The party’s economic policy tends towards liberal, and its social policy is left-wing. It shares its views on the European Union with the left, not the right.]
Ah, OK! Thanks. I’m still getting acquainted with the system here.
It you think that L-istrina is about helping the occupation of our country by illegal immigration, then say so on TV, always according to the lyrics. Tell the people that the money is to help them, like the whole song says. Don’t be scared, I am sure the people will give you/them the money.
Why did you have to spoil l-istrina by writing a whole song about immigration? Mhux sfida ?
What you wrote is a classic, if not historical and I hope the Nationalist party are informed. Starting from Dr Frank Portelli, Austin Gatt and 3/4 of the party.
They thought that they were in the Nationalist party but it must have been my mistake.
Vera morna ta’…..
The Labour are Socialist or National Socialist ( Nazi ) ?
I cannot wait for your answer.
[Daphne – The post-1992 Labour Party is right-wing and very conservative.]
Stephen Farrugia.
What is wrong with the lyrics? The only reference to the boat people is that we pray that the boats do not sink in the voyage. Now if you do not agree with these words then you are simply pathetic and so right wing that you put Norman Lowell to shame.
Hmm, how about we pray the boats never leave in the first place?
Isn’t it marvellous, that the boys will still keep a good bond with their mother/parents,even when they are in their 30’s,40’s or even more,what’s so preposterous about it?
[Daphne – It is not necessary for a man to live with his mother when in his 30s or 40s so as to have a ‘bond’ with her. At that age, men should ‘have a bond’ with a woman they are having sex with, and not with their mother. ‘A bond’, as you seem to understand it, is not the same thing as normal filial sentiment. Indeed, it is one of the major causes of marital discord if and when such men succeed in detaching themselves from their mothers off so as to bond with another woman. Mothers whose sons are still hanging round their skirts in their 30s should be worried, not pleased. But here’s the thing: it’s the mothers who keep their sons stuck to them, so rather than being worried, they’re going to be pleased. In the normal course of events, mothers pack their grown-up sons off to be men….with another woman.]
Elsewhere, most “children” are told to leave and practically kicked out once they are deemed old enough to be able to fend for themselves, i.e. once they graduate or are old enough for a job.
We Maltese are so effing spoiled. No wonder most people expect the government to pay their bills.
“We Maltese are so effing spoiled”. Dave, in Italy it’s even worse because there are more “mammoni”. I think people with a Mediterranean culture would never kick their children out of home after they graduate. I know an Italian American who would never do what our friend from Texas did to his son: he kicked him out from home just after his 18th birthday.
Parents should give their children roots to keep them grounded through tough times and wings to soar above everything, explore new worlds and fly farther than they ever did.
[Daphne – Almost nobody gets kicked out of home, anywhere in the world, John. The myth of nasty Protestants and Inglizi kicking their children out at 18 is just that: a myth. They leave because they want to or have to: because their university campus is a couple of hundred miles away or because they’re moving away for work. In Malta young people continue to live with their parents because of distance and not culture. You don’t move out if you’re only moving five miles away. You’d rather save the rent money for a down payment on a flat. That’s why men who are in their 30s, affluent, with property of their own, but still living with their mother stand out and are the subject of comment, like Franco Debono. It’s because it’s not normal. Maltese men, unlike Italian men, have tended so far to be relatively tough and adventurous, not afraid of striking out on their own, far from home, in search of something new. The cultural norm with Maltese men so far has been rather the opposite of ‘mammoni’: leaving home very young, either to emigrate, join the army or marry. Of my four grandparents, three had several siblings who left Malta between 16 and 20, never to return except for the occasional visit, and some of them didn’t even return for that. One of my father’s first cousins emigrated alone at 16. One minute he was a boarder at St Edward’s and almost the next minute he was on a ship to Australia, to make a life for himself, which he did. When I expressed consternation on hearing this, I was told it was entirely normal at the time and that no one thought anything of it. My mother’s father left Malta for North America at 18 with two of his brothers. My mother’s mother had no siblings in Malta at all; her brothers had all left for New York when they were really young (and in an interesting twist on the ‘mammoni’ trend, their mother emigrated to join them when she was in her 70s, after her husband died). But Maltese mammoni are really a very new thing. Previous generations of Maltese, as was typical of those who grew up in a Mediterranean harbour culture rather than an agricultural environment, left home when very young in search of work and a different life. Italian mammoni are a new development, too. Southern Italians emigrated en masse and many of them never saw their mothers again because the trip back to Italy was too time-consuming and expensive. Mammoni are the result of contemporary affluence and not tradition: parents in Italy, like parents in Malta, don’t know how to deal with the historical novelty of being able to support their own children well past the age when they would, in the past, have been contributing to the household income themselves, or setting up a home of their own.]
Myth my foot.
Well, ok, they are not exactly expected to live in the streets, fair enough, and perhaps kicked out is too strong a word, but I have many friends abroad, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Norway and without exception they were all asked to leave home.
Those that do stay at home are expected to pay their share of the bills!
Nothing to do with being nasty and more to do with expecting adults to be adults. It is considered perfectly normal that once you are earning money, Mummy and Daddy no longer support you financially!
[Daphne – Well, David, maybe you know different sorts of people. None of my friends outside Malta were asked to leave home. On the contrary, their parents – especially their mothers – viewed the permanent departure of their offspring as a traumatic event. Empty nest syndrome is not a condition peculiar to Malta, nor are non-Maltese parents biologically and psychologically different to Maltese parents. It’s a complete fallacy. Being expected to pay your own bills is not the same thing as being asked to leave home. I have paid my own bills since I was 17, but I still lived with my parents between 17 and 21. They didn’t charge me for rent, food and electricity – that would have been ridiculous and selfish, and understandable only if they too were on a tight wage – but I certainly didn’t go to them for money for clothes and stuff I needed.]
Well I’m sure we know different people but I didn’t make up or embellish a word. Once any of the people I know started working full time then they are no longer provided for. Anyway, unimportant really, the main point I was trying to make was that as a rule Maltese youngsters are too spoilt. I still remember at university students expecting to be spoon fed notes etc and it can also be seen in the way we expect government to pay for water and electricity etc!
As a side note, can you can compare earnings of a 17 year old in Mintoff’s Malta, to what people earn today, locally and abroad?
Daphne, I don’t think it’s a myth. It is perfectly normal in the USA to send your children away, and my friend Bill from Texas did just that to his 18 year old son. Tony Capoccio swore that he would never do that thing to his sons. We were discussing this in a Carabba’s restaurant. I had other friends from Costa Mesa who were living on their own even though their parents lived in the same area.
I also have relatives who went all over the world , the reason was always the poor economy of an overcrowded island. Gwann Mamo’s book ‘Ulied in-nanna Venut fl-Amerki” sheds a lot of light on emigration between the two wars.
I think Zuzu is just teasing…right?
[Daphne – No, Alex. I think he’s a Friend of Franco. He means it.]
With all due lack of respect, why dwell on a non-subject like Franco Debono? Who gives a rat’s arse, ghid?
You’re one of the only half-decent writers on this goddamn island – could you please write about something more interesting?
Haw, seriously.
Daphne I have to beg to differ on the left-right wing issue. To say that the PN represents the left-wing is, in my opinion, insulting the PN’s history and the way it transformed this country into a modern and decent country from 1987 till 1996. The privatisation reforms introduced by the Fenech Adami administrations in those years are fruit of centre-right politics.
[Daphne – We’re talking at cross-purposes here. I said that the Nationalist Party’s politics are (almost) liberal, not left-wing. Its politics on social issues, welfare and education are left-wing, not centre-right. The post-1981 Nationalist Party has been so successful precisely because it takes the best of different ideologies, rather than fixating on a single ideology and forging ahead with it come what may. That was the problem with Mintoff’s party, which was at the extreme end of socialism. Now Muscat is trying to do what the PN did, and picking and choosing. But because he so lacks conviction, he fails to convince.]
The left-wing politics of the Dom Mintoff-Mifsud Bonnici Governments left this country depending TOTALLY on the State………with the State intefeering with basically EVERYTHING that went on in Malta. It was the PN Government which privatised many companies, liberalised the market and gave more “power to the people”……….and those were certainly not left-wing policies.
Apart from the fact that the PN is a member of the European People’s Party………..in which there are members Parties who are from the Centre-Right political spectrum. In fact, if one has to visit the EPP’s official website…….the introduction clearly states that “the EPP is the political family of the centre-right.”
[Daphne – I prefer to go on the evidence, rather than on labels. Malta’s Labour Party sits with the European socialists, but is it fervently pro-Europe, as the rest of them are? Definitely not.]
With this political policy as ” evidence “, it could be a very good explaination, why we are in such a mess.
Once a Russian politician told me these exact words ” Malta is communism perfected “. If you really think deeply about it, it can be true because we have no choice in political ideology.
Whatever, I don’t want to have any part of it and prefer a free society offered by the Rightwing.
[Daphne – The right wing does not offer a free society, Stephen, but the opposite. At their extreme end, the right and left actually share much of their political philosophy, which is based on the total control of people.]
But that is your mistake Daphne in my opinion…………no one is talking about extremes. You seem to think of the centre-right as if it is about Hitler and Mussolini. In my opinion the CENTRE-right is all about giving freedom to the people, liberalising the markets and media, less interference by the state, more freedom for businesses, educating people more and with that killing the idea that there is one supreme leader and hero in the country (like Castro, Ghaddafi, MINTOFF, etc…) and that everything depends on him and his government. In other words………CENTRE-right is all about the PN governments of 1987-1996.
No, Alex, I’m serious…..
“many people are ego-driven and with such a high sense of personal entitlement”
That’s my biggest gripe with PN. It needs to be washed and hung to dry for the next election so it can strengthen itself. It’s better for the country and better for the party. If the next government falls short it will certainly be axed.
Hubert Zammit: you seem to be referring to libertarian ideals. My understanding is that political parties from left to right by nature want control. The ideals of libertarianism/anarchism and greens should be small parties or pressure groups keeping the government in check.
The right tends to be more tied to the nation and strive for a mono-culture, whilst the left is more focused on the individual and is historically more tolerant of multi-culturalism.