Joseph flies on Gaddafi's jet – and we took no notice at the time
Do you remember all the fuss the Labour Party and its satellite Malta Today made when finance minister Tonio Fenech took a trip on the Tumas Group’s jet in 2009?
That’s right, of course you do.
But in August 2010, when Joseph Muscat, Karmenu Vella, international secretary AST, Allahares Nidhlu Fl-Ewropa George Vella and Kelliem Ewlieni ghall-Politika Socjali Michael Farrugia took a trip on Gaddafi’s jet, nobody said anything.
Not even me, because I didn’t notice, dammit.
But now that Gaddafi is the hot topic and there’s so much to research, all these interesting details are popping up. The Gaddafi jet information was a detail in a news report in The Times. There was no hullaballoo about whether our Opposition leader should be accepting free trips from Gaddafi.
Nobody pointed out that if it was wrong for our finance minister to go on a jolly on a Tumas jet, then boy, was it ever wronger for our Opposition leader to take a freebie on Gaddafi’s.
More interesting still was the warped thinking of the Labour elves, on the comments-board beneath the online story. The general gist was: when the prime minister goes to Libya, he pays for his own jet, but when Joseph goes to Libya, Gaddafi pays. That shows how the Libyan leader holds Joseph in higher regard than he does the prime minister.
No, fools. It shows that the prime minister knows how things should be done, but Joseph doesn’t.
You will be asking, perhaps, what Karmenu Vella was doing on that trip given that we don’t have much in the way of tourism from Libya. Here’s the answer: he chaired the coordination group. That’s right, to organise their visit to Gaddafi they set up a coordination group, and it had a chairman: the brontosaurus who’s been in with Libya and Gaddafi since the 1970s.
Ahjar nibki.
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For once I’m glad Mintoff is still alive. Now he can watch his blood brother fall from grace.
As if Mintoff knows what is happening around him. Whilst watching Gaddafi’s interview on the BBC, I couldn’t stop thinking about Mintoff. They both have one thing in common; they are both suffering from dementia. No wonder the Americans said he is delusional.
My heart bleeds for the both of them.
I wonder if Gaddafi is ‘consulting’ Joseph Muscat?
This evening I again watched a clip of Bondiplus and the PM clearly said that he was keeping the President and the Leader of the Opposition informed of what was happening. He never used the word ‘consult’,
Please give me credit for your article or else I’ll do a Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and start crying.
[Daphne – Thank you for alerting me to the link.]
Please do give us the link to this August 2010 incident.
[Daphne – http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100803/local/repatriation-of-immigrants-libya-confirms-governments-version-of-events-muscat ]
How pleased Joseph looks that he met the Big Chief in Tripoli. Arani, ma.
“Now I feel like a real man – watch out, Michelle.”
Some more searches on Joseph’s trips to Libya gave this…
http://www.maltarightnow.com/?module=news&at=Rabtiet+bejn+in-negozjant+Keith+Schembri+u+Joseph+Muscat&t=a&aid=99819628&cid=19
You see Ms Caruana Galizia. With the benefit of hindsight, now you know.
[Daphne – I trust you are not comparing this with five years of hindsight to work out whether the Yes vote won the referendum.]
U ija, come on. Just a light comment.
Was Karmenu Vella still chairman of the Corinthia Group when they took that trip on Gaddafi’s jet? The Libyan Foreign Investment Company (LAFICO) holds 10,000,000 ordinary shares (out of 20,000,000) in the Corinthia Palace Hotel Company. (source: Malta Financial Services Authority). If so, then some pretty serious questions need to be answered.
U dan kollhu mill-Oppozizzjoni. Mur gibhom fil-gvern.
Mmmmm, I don’t know about that. When the Gaddafi regime goes, Karmenu Vella is going to have to build up his contacts book all over again.
He and the Prisoner of Brussels are going to have a lot of natwerking to do.
Journalists have not yet put one key question to the Labour Party : Given that Gaddafi participated in and addressed a number of MLP mass meetings, and given that the first overseas visit of Joseph Muscat as new leader was to Gaddafi himself, can the PL confirm or deny whether Gaddafi or any members of his family ever financed or are financing the MLP / PL or did the MLP / PL ever accept any similar donations?
Like their activist Joe Sammut, professional secrecy will prevent them from replying.
This makes an interesting placard for the Graffiti people! It’s very recent and it features our next Prime Minister so they cannot raise ‘it was another era’ defence..
http://www.maltastar.com/pages/r1/ms10dart.asp?a=11015
Maltastar reporting Muscat’s visit to Libya
“MISTAKE ON DOCUMENTATION Of WEAPONS EXPORTS
Mr Bugelli also referred to the recent controversy sparked by a European report which said that in 2009 Malta had exported €79 million worth of weapons to the Libyan government.
The government had claimed that Malta had only issued a transit export licence to an Italian company and the arms were never actually in Malta.
In a letter in The Times yesterday, Italian ambassador Luigi Marras questioned government’s explanation and said that Italy had only exported €8 million worth of small arms to Libya in November 2009.
Mr Bugelli said this evening that the Italian company’s local agent, WJ Parnis England, admitted a typing error on the documentation submitted to the Maltese government.
In an official letter, which the government received from the agents earlier today and which was made public, the company admitted that an “extra 0” had been inadvertently typed in.
The Italian factory which supplied the military equipment to the Libyan government was Fabrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110302/local/libyan-mirages-being-disarmed
Joseph cancelled his regular speech to the converted last Sunday due to serious concerns emerging from the Libyan Unrest situation. God forbid if he made that speech. Three days later: http://www.maltastar.com/pages/r1/ms10dart.asp?a=14466