I hate to break it to you, Franco, but those people who say you’re right? They’re lying to your face.
From The Sunday Times report on its MISCO survey, yesterday:
The Debono conundrum
Nearly half of all respondents believe Franco Debono acted the way he did for his own personal interests, the majority of these being in the 25 to 34 age bracket.
The backbencher has failed to convince the party faithful about his intentions with a mere 4.8 per cent believing he is acting in the national interest.
Equally interesting are the nearly 20 per cent Labourites who think his actions are driven by his personal interests. A third of respondents agree with his declared intentions.
The MP is not very popular with those who said they will not vote, are undecided or refused to say how they will vote. He only enjoys the support of 30 per cent of these respondents.
Forty-two per cent believe the lawyer from Għaxaq should resign from Parliament, as opposed to 37.7 per cent who believe he had acted correctly. The vast majority of those who want to see Dr Debono give up his seat have a tertiary level of education.
Nationalist supporters are clearly in line with the party’s declaration he should quit (89.3 per cent) as opposed to the 9.5 per cent Labour supporters who think he should go.
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Now here’s my view on why most people who are really not impressed by Franco Debono are in the 24 to 35 age bracket: social media networks. This is the generation that has been feeding off (and producing) those viral videos of clips from Bondi+ and Bla Agenda, the ‘Hitler’ spoof and the rest.
They are getting completely different news to those of my generation and older, who sources are mainly the mainstream news sites in which Franco Debono is being treated like a normal person with legitimate demands, and where he isn’t considered as automatically discredited, and his views invalidated, by his stunts with his school report and his neurotic boasting and wild demands to be be treated better because he is more intelligent.
It is the viral videos which have grasped the essence of Franco Debono, and not the news reports. And this is one of the few instances in recorded history in which the young are better informed and smarter than their parents.
I mean, let’s face it, what sort of person watches this scene and comes out admiring Franco? Trid tkun daqxejn imtektek bhalu. But then I think you’ll find that the individuals who admire him have generally made fairly disastrous life decisions themselves. This sort of behaviour is, to them, completely acceptable. And normal.
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‘The MP is not very popular with those who said they will not vote, are undecided or refused to say how they will vote. He only enjoys the support of 30 per cent of these respondents…’
Is it correct to deduce that he’s polarised the floaters? The only difficulty is that there are those who are erroneously assimilating politics with Franco Debono, and who have given up on voting.
I see so many comments on timesofmalta.com such as “kuragg”, “keep it up” and “be strong”. People who appear to be supporting Franco Debono.
All they want is to give him that push to vote against the government. They don’t care about him being “hurt” or about his ideas.
I believe that if Franco does not vote against the government it is not too late for him to build some bridges with the PN and eventually be genuinely respected for his ideas and energy and not end what was a promising political career in disgrace.
Debono’s political career was not promising. No one who is that obnoxious can hold any promise.
Franco Debono is the kind of person that I would not spend five minutes talking to.
[Daphne – You would have no choice and I can assure you that it would be a lot longer than five minutes. ]
He is a spoilt brat who takes himself too seriously, an egocentric braggart and a fool, albeit a dangerous one (he is doing a very good job at plunging the country into a political crisis.)
How do the political parties choose their prospective candidates?
I mean he did not turn into what he is overnight and I am sure that some due diligence would have long ago revealed the true nature of the man.
People don’t talk to Franco Debono. They sit through his monologues.
People don’t talk to Franco Debono. They SUFFER through his monologues.
People don’t talk to Franco Debono, he never shows up at his office.
@ Ciccio
No one suffered as much as Franco Debono.
Yes, and imagine having to pay HIM for the privilege, as I once had to do.
Now that’s what I call suffering.
Didn’t Franco Debono lie about showing his school report to Fenech Adami, even though he said he showed it to Tonio Borg?
Didn’t Debono also lie about his interest in commercial law?
Didn’t he also fail some of his university exams and had to resit them?
Didn’t he say he didn’t care about being made minister?
Didn’t he say he doesn’t really care about Joseph Muscat becoming prime minister thanks to him?
What does that make Franco Debono?
A manipulator.
A bully.
Careless?
“who sources are mainly the mainstream news sites in which Franco Debono is being treated like a normal person ”
LOL, are you referring to your “famous” poison spreading blog in the independent?
[Daphne – When I remember that people like you have a vote and use it, I shudder. 1. I don’t have a blog in ‘the independent’, a poison-spreading one or otherwise. This is my blog. I have a column in The Malta Independent and The Malta Independent on Sunday. It’s a different medium. 2. I do not spread poison. I write, under my own name, about politics. The fact that Super One and subliterate people on Facebook tell you that I spread poison does not mean that I do. The trouble is that people of your sort can’t actually ready much, so they have never read anything I’ve written. Had you any sort of training at all, in reporting or even at university, you would know to go to the source. 3. You have a vote. So it’s time to grow up.]
Agreed 100%, which is why when the guy answers his phone on TV, or even just puts it on display, people come up with videos like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dudkhtAvPk
Il-Baggio hey, sarilna avukat.