Running commentary on Xarabank
Exactly why did the Nationalist Party elect to dispatch Edwin Vassallo as its representative tonight? Not to look too slick, perhaps?
I’ve just heard Franco say that he is the VICTIM OF A BAD POLITICAL SYSTEM. And he’s off, listing his hobby-horses.\
He’s repeated it: ‘Meta nghid li jien vittma ta’ sistema…’
Now he’s talking about his age again.
And he’s just claimed that he didn’t know there was going to be a cabinet reshuffle that morning when he spoke to The Times.
Ho ho ho.
Now Arnold is accusing Franco of bringing about instability, even though he is not AD in coalition.
——-
Franco Debono has knocked back his entire glass of water already. The others haven’t even touched theirs. It’s a matter of minutes before he picks up the empty glass and begins waving it around for the waiter to fill it, as he did on Bondi+ last Tuesday. He was caught briefly on camera doing it.
——-
Edwin Vassallo has pointed out that Lino Spiteri said Franco Debono should resign his seat, but Muscat is instead encouraging Debono to carry on, because it pays him to do so.
Joseph Muscat, Vassallo is saying now, is ‘trying to use you, Franco’.
‘I’ll tell you who’s using me,’ Franco said in reply. ‘And Lino Spiteri writes very positive things about me.’
Maybe Edwin Vassallo was the right person to send along, after all. I can’t see, say, Beppe Fenech Adami controlling himself next to that twitching, mouthy jerk. It’s astonishing how Franco’s body language and way of speaking are exactly like Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s were during his Earl Grey period.
———-
Franco is now explaining why his stance is more significant than Mintoff’s in 1998. That was about a yacht marina, but his actions are all about the foundations of democracy.
Ho ho ho.
———–
He’s just said that he will never join the Labour Party. He hasn’t stopped to wonder whether the Labour Party actually wants him.
Arnold has just told Franco calmly that it’s pointless going on about his plans, because now there’s no time to get them done before a general election (if the No Confidence vote goes through). Meanwhile, people want to know what’s happening, he said, because business is grinding to a halt already.
Now Michael Falzon is giving credence to the whining of Jean Pierre Farrugia, John Dalli and the usual suspects. Hey, Jean Pierre – how do you enjoy being used?
———-
I take back what I said about Edwin Vassallo at the start. So far he’s been perfect – tone, pitch and mode of address are just right for this situation. Anybody else would have come across as cynically patronising Franco when saying those things, but Edwin sounds genuine.
———–
Take note of the response to the poll question. Most respondents don’t want an election to be held. This is interesting, because it mirrors the result of the timesofmalta.com poll in which some 20,000 voted.
It appears that nobody but Joseph and Michelle Muscat and Anglu Farrugia want this. Oh, and Johnny Dalli.
————
Did you see Franco Debono checking his phone just then? He never learns, does he. They don’t call it a Crackberry for nothing. While he was checking his messages or seeing who’d rung (a couple of people I know, for a start, pressing hash-31-hash and then cutting, just to wind him up with thoughts of having missed calls from fans and well-wishers), that hopeless comedian Johnny il-Kajbow came on and cracked a joke about mobiles that ring when they’re switched off.
————-
Franco: it’s all pouring out now. He’s referred to himself as a victim for the third time.
I can’t believe that he’s just said that ALL government MPs should be involved in the decision-making. That would be a pretty huge cabinet, don’t you think? It could run Russia.
It looks like the Labour Party’s new Elve buzz-phrase is ‘iggranfati/ikkakmati mal-poter’. You know, for its own sake.
Franco has just checked his Crackberry again.
What the hell is Arnold Cassola wearing on his right wrist? A frigging friendship bracelet? Sob. You look ridiculous, Arnold. Take it off at once.
———–
Isn’t it surreal? There they are, wondering what’s going to happen next week, when the person who knows exactly what’s going to happen – General Franco – is sitting there with them smugly, looking like a cat that’s got the cream.
I can’t bear it when they all start shouting over each other like this, behaving like criecer.
————
Oh, so he checks his mobile on television, he says, because he can multitask. That’s not the point, Franco. It’s just plain rude, whether you’re listening to proceedings while doing it or not.
Pink tie = elevated mood.
Did I hear Michael Falzon right? “Jien qed niehu pjacier nisma lil Edwin jikkonferma li hawn l-instabbilita fil-pajjiz.” Why is that so great?
Ikkakkmati mal-poter again….
That poll – very interesting.
———-
Good for Arnold: he’s broken the atmosphere of surrealism by saying it out loud: ‘Why are you asking US what will happen with the confidence vote? Ask him – pointing to Franco – because he’s the one who knows. Then he addressed Franco directly: ‘Int tholl u torbot.’ Franco didn’t like this, because he’s convinced himself that it’s up to the prime minister.
Now he’s banging on because he doesn’t like being called outspoken. He’s a lawyer and he only says a fraction of what he has in his mind, he said. He’s a lawyer and he’s very specific.
He’s probably been reading this blog.
———–
There they go again, reminding him that if he brings down the government, his plans for political party financing blah blah blah go down the drain.
Franco’s getting very agitated. Edwin had better bring out some of that peace-oil again. OK, there’s a laugh. I’m impressed at what a calming influence Edwin has on him. It’s as though Franco feels he’s sitting next to a reassuring father.
———–
I have the strangest feeling that as they’re watching this programme, Joseph & Co’s excitement about an early election is evaporating fast.
One never knows, though. John Dalli might step in like Batman and work on General Franco.
Marelli, how uncivilised – can’t they debate without screaming? U imbaghad jghidu ghan-nisa, li jwerzqu.
Oh dear God, quote of the day from Franco: MELA JEKK IL-PRIM MINISTRU GHANDU L-KABINETT, HEMM GHALFEJN IMMUR JIENA NGHIDILHOM X’JAGHMLU?
More about how many Prosit messages he got…
Edwin Vassallo is excellent in his role of the father Franco so clearly needed. He’s excellent because it’s not put on. Anyone else would have been fake, and the anger against Franco would have come through the falsity of the words and jarred. Edwin seems to have genuine compassion for him. Edwin, instead of being enraged at Franco for being such a prize pr**k, is mad at Labour for manipulating him.
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Miskiiiiiin!!!
Underdog and vittma. All words used by narcissists. It’s always somebody else’s fault.
My thoughts exactly even on Edwin Vassallo.
Franco: Il-vittma miskIn. Vittmi ahna!
Have you noticed him saying: PM should remain till he enjoys the majority? What is he implying? That the President should withdraw Gonzi’s appointment as PM? (as it were)?
If a rogue MP creates instability, imagine what a coalition would mean.
Poll is interesting, not wanting election.
Did you notice that Franco Debono repeated himself three times in a row apparently without noticing?
Any professional/armchair psychiatrists out there who care to comment?
“Haddiehor kellu joqghod attent li ma nasalx f’dik il-posizzjoni.” Very telling and very important statement. He’s judge and jury.
I have to say Edwin is not totally off the mark.
Ha jdum isemmiha din tad-dritt ta’ l-avukat. Frankly, the position of the accused is worse now because if the detained has recourse to this right, he is supremely screwed.
Many times it is much better that the detainee refrains from exercising this so-called right.
And Debono’s off again. “Imma x’inhu l-punt?” he asks.
That’s exactly what everyone else would like to know
Re Edwin, what comes to my mind is that he was the face on Xarabank to endorse John Dalli prior to the PN leadership election, following which Edwin lost all he had gained in the PN.
Maybe they wanted to send someone who stayed loyal to the party despite what had happened to him. Don’t forget that Edwin had been a Parliamentary Secretary if I’m not mistaken for two legislatures.
Edwin is talking about what I said right now…I think I was right
Franco is too up beat. He must have something up his sleeve…and I don’t think it’s voting in favour of the opposition.
Edwin, whyyyy oh please why…Maybe because he has the same accent as dear Joseph?
[Daphne – It’s not quite the same accent. To an outsider, it sounds the same, but there are differences between the Mosta and Burmarrad accents which those of us who live here can pick up. Even Bidnija has its own particular accent.]
Interesting! Both Joe and the General are underdogs, though.
It is very true: Edwin sounds really genuine. I’m surprised. He sounds like a doting father trying to make a lost son see sense. Well I never.
Edwin is good for Xarabank. People like Beppe FA and Mario De Marco are good for Bondi +. It’s marketing. The MP must appeal to the audience.
Well said…
I agree. Mario Demarco came into his own on Bondi+ last night. Well done, Mario!
Edwin might be a conservative but he is a good man. Loyal, calm and a good clean politician. Not my district so no hidden agenda but this is my impression.
Mmmm I believe Edwiin Vassallo is the mediator trying to pour oil on troubled waters.
….in Exxon Valdez quantities, too.
Franco Debono’s humourless. That’s always a bad sign. Shall we have a whip round and buy him a funny bone?
All this talk of being in the shadow’s worrying. Maybe Debono needs one of these
http://sadtherapylamps.com/
@maryanne
Underdog and vittma. All words used by narcissists. It’s always somebody else’s fault.
Nahseb li l-izball kien ta’ missieru u ommu li gabuh..lol bhalma kien jghid missieri lili li jien gejt b’ izball.
Daphne, may I borrow your words? Franco is just lovin’ it.
And there’s the mobile again! and how he was elected by telling hundreds to vote, and by toppling over Louis Galea, etc.
Edwin Vassallo’s performance tonight has been excellent. If only the one next to him can reason things out calmly like him.
I take that back. That vein popping out on Franco’s forehead’s scarier.
I never could stand Edwin Vassallo. Tonight I have changed my opinion and it was a wise decision to send him tonight.
One of the many bees in Franco Debono’s bonnet are Malta’s libel laws.
Please don’t tell him he wants to make them even more ridiculously restrictive.
Issa sew, jaghmel il-multi-tasking. Se jkollu problema ohra Anglu Farrugia bil-multi-taksing.
And it’s MULTI as in the Maltese word for fines…
If it wasn’t clear enought to Franco Debono, it is now as clear as a bell.
Peppi said “If Labour is in government, you will surely not do what you aspired to do”. Debono was mum for 4/5 seconds. Will he vote against the resolution and say he always said that he had no confidence in the PM but has confidence in the government?
That’s what he’s implied all along.
He said he’d vote against Gonzi.
He never said he’d vote against government.
He’s banking on cleaning Gonzi out to grab the seat for himself.
He hasn’t a hope in hell of being elected. With him at the helm, the PN will go down like the proverbial lead balloon.
With Franco Debono at the helm, ALL MALTA will go down. Things are already shaky thanks to him. As if that’s not bad enough.
Jonny l-Kajboj is about as funny as cancer. Uzgur!
Dreadful.
But why does he think that he should be rewarded heavily for his ideas? His agenda is so clear.
‘I have worked hard— reward me.’
‘I have come up with such great ideas– reward me.’
‘How dare you not reward me for all my hard work, suffering and sweat ‘(he said it himself – soffrejt u gheriqt).
How pretentious.
An immense sense of entitlement.
It’s unusally more akin to a Labour mindset.
usually …
Edwin Vassallo is there because he doesn’t speak like a pretentious know-it-all lawyer. He speaks like a caring and humble family member.
I think it’s quite evident that he is aiming for a tie, with the speaker of the house having to vote in favour of continuation of the discussions. This will prolong his time in the limelight and allow him leverage for longer.
Spot on. From what I just heard he might even wait until the PM has to resign and then when the President tries to find an alternative he will propose someone he would be ready to work with. Of course that is when he realises the president will not ask him as he will not have the necessary backing anyway.
How would that situation arise? As things stand, there is no option of removing the prime minister by a vote in the house.
La redoute, if I understood Dr Comodini correctly, when the government loses its majority the president will first see if there is any person who has the confidence and the backing of the majority of the MPs and if not we then go to the polls.
For example President approaches Tonio Borg and because Debono has said that he would work under anyone but gonzi, then Tonio Borg becomes Prime minister with the backing of Debono and the rest of the PN MP’s. Obviously this is all hypothetical.
Franco Debono seems to have a fixation for people to take responsibility and resign. He mentioned it again a few minutes ago.
How about applying it to himself after assessing what his behaviour has cost the party and the country.
Resign for what? Narcisissts never do anything wrong.
All the people love him. They love him all. They will DIE to protect him.
Now, where did I hear that before?
Initially I was going to write to disagree with your take on Edwin but later noticed you changed your mind.
I think that till now he has hit all the right buttons.
Don’t know if many people caught the very stinging jibe that Edwin made at Arnold about going to Italy. I think it was incredibly sharp of him to answer like that.
Let us not upset him any further.
Franco is referred to as Generalissimo. Not as a mere General.
El Caudillo por la gracia de Dios.
Din il-ghagla kollha min naha tal-PL ghax forsi qed jahsbu li Franco se jirranga mal-PN u minn taht jiehdu ruh ghax ma ghandhom xejn ippreparat. Forsi l-extension tal-power station ghadha mhux lesta u ma jafux x’se jaqbdu jaghmlu issa, ghax weghdu li huma ha jahdmuha bil-gas.
Naf li xbajt nara wicc Franco Debono kull fejn thares.
Isn’t it all a bit schizoid? Everyone’s sitting around discussing what will or won’t happen on Thursday, whether there’s enough time to debate the motion, what sort of procedure will be applied, etc. etc. etc
and the cause of all this needless trouble sits there with a smirk as though it’s nothing to do with him.
You are right. Franco is enjoying every moment of this.
Actually, Franco’s body language and, more importantly, facial expressions show that he is sad and angry. He has also toned it down a lot. Maybe he is changing his mind or a really good actor.
Edwin has performed really well tonight.
Franco’s not outspoken, eh?
Oh, dear me. Forget the SAD lamps. He needs one of these:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/–m3c5Kbdonw/TWYRepOO10I/AAAAAAAABq4/RjlVXWK57rY/s1600/outspoken.jpg
The look on Franco’s face when Arnold told him it all depends on his vote just says it all!
So now he’s going to suck up to the bird trappers. What say you we set one big trap and get him to keep his shut?
Issa anke fuq l-insib ser jaqbadha, waqt li jirrepeti li qed jaghmel sagrificcju personali.
X’inhi l-issue ezatt, Franco?
Has Arnold been skiing in the Himalayas? It’s that mountain tan and ragged bracelets, man.
And was that a short sleeve shirt he was wearing under that jacket, in January?
So Franco’s going to give the PM another chance.
Smart boy.
So why is he such a failure as a person?
The glass is empty now
The original kev (Ellul Bonici ta’ Sharon) has been unusually quiet lately.
He is eyeing Edwin’s glass now.
My goodness it’s like watching a soap opera! A father (Edwin) trying to calm down and speak sense to his son ( Franco ) to bring him back home. What a farce. Very interesting poll though. The people are so much more than those who represent them.
Sorry meant to say the people are more intelligent than those who represent them
Edwin was brilliant
Which goes to show that staunch conservatives like him are needed in the Nationalist party. Please note Daphne!
*facepalm*
Wallpalm!
Franco Debono’s other quote of the day: I am not outspoken.
Good grief.
He says he’s only entertaining us with 10% of what he has to say. Just imagine….
Closing comment by Debono – segwi l-parlament il-gimgha d-diehla u tkun taf. Guess we’re in for much more fun.
Best Xarabank ever I have to say. I think our country’s political system will evolve to something much better after this debacle is over.
Different opinions can be discussed, but we don’t need to kill each other just because we don’t agree. Prosit to all speakers.
It seems that Edwin is the person with a mission from the PN and he indirectly said it from the beginning that they respect each other a lot.
All of a sudden PL are really concerned about the economy. Ho Ho Ho.
Arnold at one point indirectly told Franco that he was sure that he will not be attending parliament when the vote will be taken. I must really say that Edwin was excellent. (Ma nafux minn Adam).
It seems that Franco and his mobile are one.
And while all this has been going on, Standard and Poor have been downgrading credit ratings for many Eurozone countries, Malta included.
It’s flash news on Sky.
Xarabank = Fiddling as Rome burns !
Towards the end Franco stopped short of saying that he is the messiah.
Jason Micallef not running for election after being asked by PL to keep his concentration on the work he is doing.
I’m convinced now more than ever that:
1. The current problem is Franco Debono. He is not a team player and he thinks he is a know-it-all. I was disgusted for example how he rudely interrupted Dr. Comodini when she was explaining Constitutional law.
2. The problem is 100% a party problem, as the PM says and should be resolved within the party.
3. If Franco doesn’t change and become a team player, he has no place in the PN.
4. The Labour Party wants power at any cost. This is now blatantly obvious.
Franco cannot change. He cannot be a team player. But that’s the least of it.
The real problem with Franco Debono is that he’s not particularly competent but no one dares say so to his face for fear of upsetting him.
The result is that he’s been allowed to run away with the idea that his ‘achievements’ are outstanding and that he, therefore, deserves to get ahead.
I think you should listen to Lino Spiteri on Smash. He is repeating everything that Edwin Vassallo is saying and asking the prime minister to ask everyone to tone down attacks on Franco so that he will continue the governing for the next year. He knows that the PL is not ready and is not showing that much entusiam about Joseph.
I agree, Edwin Vassallo was brilliant tonight.
Well done, Edwin Vassallo. You were out numbered but you still managed to put your correct points across.
Thank you Daphne and all the posters here for keeping me updated with what was happening on Xarabank. Although Xarabank probably had its biggest audience ever tonight, I was not one of them.
I just can’t bear to see it live, but I was anxious to know what was happening just the same. It’s so much easier on the nerves to read about it than to watch it.
So thank you all. About Edwin Vassallo. He might not be the brightest bulb in the box but he is a genuine, loyal person whom I’ve always liked, despite everything.
I am sick and tired hearing discussions about someone with an over-inflated ego. Debono wants all Malta and Gozo to focus its attention on Parliament on Wednesday to see what he will do.
He enjoys the attention and wants more.
Besides, he uses every opportunity on the media to advertise his law firm.
I hope that after Wednesday we will stop talking about Franco Debono and the country can return to normality and concentrate on more pleasant things.
One thing is certain – Debono is basking in the limelight, and enjoying every minute.
He is happy to leave the country in suspense for six days.
Still when Peppi, and at one time Arnold, pointed it out to him that all his proposals for better governance will come to nothing if government is defeated, his expression froze for a few seconds, as if this reality was not forethought.
Vassallo’s patronising however bordered on the annoying, although his arguments throughout were strong and well placed.
Following this programme, Gonzi should not be convinced to try and build any bridges with Debono, but should call Debono’s bluff and ask for a vote of confidence on Thursday.
Edwin Vassallo is not one of my favourites and my initial thought mirrored yours, Daphne. However, as time passed, I must admit that his presence was the correct choice. Well done, Edwin.
I’m already imaging you say it “Marelli, how uncivilised……” hahaha so Daphne Caruana Galizia…..on a side note it was only Edwin who was shouting and who was thinking he is the sole speaker on the panel….but true that PN chose the best person possible….he is too much of a bluffer, and I think it worked on the undecided Nationalists that they should still have some form of belief in their party, considering that they are ignorant to recognize that Vassallo doesn’t give a f**k whether to have Franco behind him or not in Parliament.
Edwin Vassallo was incredibly good and totally surprised me with his performance on tonight’s Xarabank.
I am not a particular fan of Edwin, but I feel he was the perfect man for tonight and he was very good
Well done Edwin. The way a true and loyal politician should be. He definitely deserved more in gonzipn.
Franco Debono got an ego-boost tonight with all that attention and with Edwin Vassallo dispatched to lick his boots.
The programme was surreal because it was all about what could happen next week whilst all along the only one who was in a position to stop all the speculation was sitting right there in the middle of all that limelight.
That old has-been Cassola looked absurd with those tawdry bits of coloured strings round his wrist. A perfect reminder of how some old ex- hippies of the sixties never grow up.
[Daphne – Arnold Cassola was never a hippy. He was always square. God, that’s an old word.]
Square? That is what the Italians referred to as Matusa (short for Matusalemme) in those days.
First of all, it’s hippie (not hippy). At the time of the hippies, Arnold was still about 11 or 12 years old….too young to be a hippie.
[Daphne – Rubbish. The hippie era lasted until the early 1970s. I would know because I was around at the time, even if only as a child. Arnold was definitely not born in the early 1960s, because that would make him my age and he’s a hell of a lot older. He’s 60 if he’s a day, or getting there. But he wouldn’t have been a hippie at the time; he would have been a square.]
He’s 58.
[Daphne- So the perfect age to have been a hippie 40 years ago.]
Watched Xarabank. Franco donnu ‘gej lura’.
Edwin is surely a father/big brother figure for Franco; when the former spoke the latter listened.
Today week we’ll be back where we left off. But it was an exciting week.
Kieku mhux ghal Franco, kieku fuq xhiex konna se noghqodu nghidu? Forsi fuq Gonzi’s trip to Qatar?
That is the only thing that had to happen, but did not.
Until next time, good morning, good afternoon and good night.
Edwin is a village (tar-rahal) type and so is Franco. Choice is excellent.
Franco’s modest village mentality has found recourse and is mirrored in Edwin’s.
Franco’s complex is gone with Edwin around.
‘And Lino Spiteri writes very positive things about me.’
but there’s a big BUT:
“Where we differ is in that I held to the end that my vote in the House of Representatives was pledged to my party, since I had stood for election on its ticket.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120108/opinion/Democracy-not-for-sale.401475
Having Edwin Vassallo for the PN on Xarabank may have raised some eyebrows from a lot of people at the beginning but I am sure that by the end many believed that it was either a casual choice (something I do no believe ) or a masterstroke. This could not be said of the Labour Party’s choice of representative.
You could see hypocrisy coming out of Edwin’s ears.
If, as he said,the door is still open, why was he one of the members who voted for Franco’s resignation?
It was the party that closed the door for reconciliation.
[Daphne – Come off it, Silvio. If he didn’t hold the one-seat majority, he’d have been booted out three years ago. There are some Nationalist Party politicians who only began to understand the necessity of divorce legislation when it was pointed out to them that some women are married to men like Franco. Having been at the receiving end of his ‘assedju’ for three years by that stage, they could think ‘Oh my god, imagine that.’]
Franco’s frustration and anger appeared calmed and tamed on Xarabank. I think he might change his attitude to the way he votes.
Is Arnold seriously considering making a comeback?
Oh well, now that his Italian parliamentary pension risks being revoked….
Malta cannot thank you enough, Edwin.
I noticed that Franco is hoping for the PM to give him some kind of assurance or guarantee or confirmation of his good work: ‘il-Prim Ministru ghad ma qal xejn’ he said.
If the PM takes note of this and obliges, I believe that FD will be happy and the no confidence motion will not pass.
[Daphne – No, what he meant by that is that the prime minister hasn’t yet told him of his intention to resign, even though Franco gave him a deadline. Arroganza tboss.]
Edwin is a genuine, loyal person – well done.