Anthony, you are right. It was JMK who said so.

I would expect a special feature on TV about this, with proper explanations by the MFSA, Central Bank and Stock Exchange officials and investment consultants.
Can Reno Bugeja dissect this subject?

The politics of fear is not taking the country anywhere. There is too much attention paid to “political correctness” everywhere in the world, including Malta.

quote Daphne: [Unlike diplomats, he and his government are required to take positions and keep the public apprised of them. Diplomats then follow those positions]

Daphne, would you be willing to agree that a primary professional duty of career diplomats is to primarily advise their prime minister and his/her government on what positions the government should take with reference to external/foreign affairs?

I agree that diplomats are then duty-bound to follow positions taken by their respective government.

[Daphne – Yes, of course I agree with you, Leo, and that is why I said the prime minister’s and foreign minister’s visit to Libya just five or six days before the rebellion blew up was a signal failure of diplomatic intelligence. Perhaps the advice was given and was not heeded? It was inevitable that Libya would blow up after first Ben Ali and more so Mubarak fell, and there had been rumblings in Benghazi for some time. It is the role of career diplomats to advise the foreign minister (political appointees know little) but ultimately, it is the foreign minister who must then advise the prime minister and the prime minister who must decide. That’s where the buck stops.]

I think it was John Maynard Keynes who said “in the long run, we are all dead”.

Being neutral may sound fine, untill one realizes that fence-sitting has a price. Those who do nothing, citing neutrality, are no better than those who kill, maim and torture.

RE KMB, he wasn’t neutral, as his tipping Gaddafi off could be construed as taking sides against the American forces. Giving information to one side in a conflict is to the detriment of the other side.

The international community is biding its time, and when the dust has settled, will decide which emperor to hail. Doing nothing, as it is doing now, reminds me of this:

http://hi.nciku.com/space.php?uid=87&do=album&picid=8248

Malta has made a pretty packet out of the whole ferrying business, what with planes having to pay for landing rights, hotel accomodation, catering etc etc. Apart from the look good factor.

A pertinent question regarding Maltese business in Libya would be whether any bond issues were subscribed to by Maltese citizens to finance major projects by Maltese businesses, how much, and when due.

This and similar issues are the shades of grey I wrote about in my comments above.

I am not sure that we are alone in this, but let me talk about Malta.

Our government is afraid to take a tough and clear position of rejection of the Gaddafi regime including the government led by his sons and his lackeys.

In my view, anyone not taking on directly the Gaddafi regime must be afraid that it will survive and take back control. Now – whereas there is still a good chance that this may not happen, because wars are dirty and unpredictable, and I believe Gaddafi will be toppled – should the Gaddafi regime prevail, it is going to be much worse than what it was before, and more dangerous.

It will retaliate against the opposition and will equip itself with more lethal weaponry. It may even sponsor foreign terrorism. Therefore, it will inevitably be an illegitimate government and no state can be legitimised in dealing with it.

I think this point is not being made clearly enough.

If a clear position against Gaddafi and his regime is not taken, that regime will not be demoralised, and we will be writing our own fate of having to deal with that regime in future.

The only other fear I can see is that of losses on existing investments in Libya. If I were in government, I would take the view that these should be totally written off – past losses, and hence will not let those investments come in the way of deciding Malta’s politics about Libya. Anything recovered will be a future profit.

If Libya is to have a post-Gaddafi government, we would stand to benefit from business deals that will compensate for the past losses.

If Libya continues to be run by the Gaddafis, who would want to continue doing business there anyway? Who would lend money for use in Libya?

I agree with you, Daphne. This is a very vague observation. I mean, as Adam Smith once said, in the long run we are all dead. And, inevitably, Gaddafi will, ONE DAY, exit the political scene.