Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando is culturally alien to me
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando drinks to the health of Labour lawyer Andy Ellul and his sister, failed Labour MEP candidate Sharon Ellul Bonici. He must think them more European than Turks.
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has said that he ‘might’ present a private member’s motion on whether Malta should support Turkey’s entry to the European Union.
In a way it’s a good thing, because when politicians – like anyone else, really – get going on this subject, they show their true colours and you get good and useful insight into their hang-ups, prejudices and perspectives.
A debate in parliament on this subject would be most revealing.
Jeffrey seems to have been upset by the accusation that he thinks and speaks like a racist and bigot, because he wrote on his Facebook wall – where he seems to spend most of his time in between pulling teeth and injecting women with Botox – that Sarkozy objects to Turkey too, so he’s in good company.
The difference, which he doesn’t seem to get, is that his objections are made on the basis that Turks are not ‘culturally European’ (whatever that is; you have only to compare Maltese culture with Finnish culture, for instance, or Italian culture with British culture) and much in the same vein.
That’s a bigot’s reaction. And it’s an ignorant one, too.
Last year, I objected most strongly to the fact that the government took a decision not to back the insurgency against Muammar Gaddafi or to cooperate or facilitate the campaign there by the allied forces. I wrote that it was absolutely horrendous that there was no discussion in parliament about the situation in Libya or how Malta should get involved (or not), or even what the insurgency meant for Malta in the first place.
Less than 200 miles away, a civil war raged, the war-planes of our European colleagues flew overhead as we lay in our beds, and the Maltese parliament simply ignored the large elephant in the room.
It was disgraceful, weird – and I don’t recall Jeffrey going on Facebook or Super One to raise hell about it.
Why? Well, because he probably thought it convenient to sit on the fence with a post up his butt like the rest of them, head down and coward’s way out. He wasn’t even at the demonstration in favour of the insurgents, in Valletta at the start of the ordeal.
No. The only two MPs in the whole of parliament who were there were Charlo Bonnici and Beppe Fenech Adami.
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I am now interested to know what Joseph Muscat thinks about Turkey joining the EU.
I am morally convinced (thanks, Alfred Sant) that this is another attempt to split the conservatives and the liberals. Strangely, JPO is now playing with the conservatives.
The EU’s expansion East has been subject to a number of political debates which mainly uncovered the difference between those who understand what the European project is, and those who reduce it to a border.
As if a physical border carries any weight in this day and age.
One of the arguments is that if Turkey is to be accepted, Israel would be next in line.
Things will become even clearer then.
I cannot understand how the Nationalist Party can tolerate such people within its ranks. For honour’s sake – SACK them and let’s face an honourable election. If the PN loses – so what?
“Last year, I objected most strongly to the fact that the government took a decision not to back the insurgency against Muammar Gaddafi or to cooperate or facilitate the campaign there by the allied forces.”
….yet hearing the Prime Minister talk today, you’d think that it was him and his government who brought, single-handedly, change in Libya. U-turns anyone?
No, it was JOSEPH and the opposition who brought about, single-handedly, change in Libya.
JPO is kicking up a fuss for nothing.
On timesofmalta.com’s comments-board, a Marco Spiteri remarked:
“Jeffrey you will long be gone from parliament (you should be retiring by next year no?) before all the chapters in the accession talks with Turkey are concluded – then and only then, will the whole Turkey question become a debatable issue for the Maltese Parliament. So far, and may I remind you that Turkey applied for membership in 1987, with an association agreement going back to 1963, only 13 chapters out of 33 have been opened and if i’m not mistaken only 1 has effectively been closed! And at that point Turkeys accession to the EU will require a unanimous approval of all 27 member states. So don’t hassle with a private member’s bill, to quote Rowan atkinson, it’s about as useful as a one-legged man at a backside kicking contest.”
Will the real Jeffrey speak up?
“Dr Pullicino Orlando said that the issue was not Turkey’s accession per se but the way certain declarations were made.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120414/local/nationalist-mp...
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando on Facebook
This government DOES NOT HAVE A MANDATE to support Turkey’s accession to the EU. I, for one, am totally against it. Turkey is not culturally “European”, accession would result in a wave of Turkish immigrants and widening the EU to include Turkey will prevent consolidation of the political and economic union which is already difficult in the current economic climate.
“A debate in parliament on this subject would be most revealing.”
What about a vote?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120414/local/nationalist-mp-may-move-private-member-s-motion-on-turkey-s-eu-bid.415378
Can some enterprising MP put forward a private member’s motion to have JPO’s seat removed?
Jeffrey knows full well that Turkey doesn’t have any support from Greece, Cyprus and France, at least for the next twenty years.
The government acted responsibly and has to take a friendly stand towards Turkey as Malta exports a few million euros to Turkey and many Maltese jobs would be on the line if Malta takes a negative stand.
JPO just want to embarrass the Prime Minister for sheer spite.
He yearns for opportunities like these.
It is not just Sarkozy who is against Turkey’s entry in the EU: there is Angela Merkel (who,infamously, during a football match in Germany, between Germany and Turkey, played in front of Merkel and Erdogan, saw the ‘Turks in Germany’ booing the Turkish player playing for Germany for having scored a goal for Germany),there is Rasmussen, Nato secretary-general, plus Greece, plus Cyprus, etc.
I do agree, however, that one should not make enemies if it can be avoided, when there are much bigger players and interests in this matter.
Let’s face it. How realistic is it to think that Turkey can ever join the EU?
They don’t even recognize the existence of Cyprus. They even threatened to cut relations with the EU if Cyprus presides over the EU presidency.
They also don’t recognize the Armenian genocide while some EU countries have officially recognized it in their legal framework.
Also, Turkey is a country of 80 million, soon 90 million. Do you think it’s realistic to think that EU countries would want Turkey to lead the EU instead of Germany/France?
If Turkey joins, it will be over for the EU.
Power is already very diluted and with Turkey accession most probably the EU would become a bureaucratic mess that doesn’t achieve anything. Why do you think David Cameron, being anti-EU, is in favour of Turkey joining the EU?
I’ve been to Turkey, and I can say that the Turkish are very European (whatever that means). So it’s not a question of being a racist, because I’m not. It’s a question of being realistic. Hence, at this point, I’m opposed to Turkish accession into the EU.
Which Turks are European? I’d agree that the Istanbul-is and other Turks living in the Western parts are quite Westernised but that seems to change as you go eastwards particularly when you approach the Kurdish regions.
[Daphne – Have you been to a village in Gozo (or Malta) recently? It’s like being in Frankfurt, isn’t it?]
Given Turkey’s stances regarding the illegal occupation of N.Cyprus, its policies towards minorities such as the Kurds, some of their laws regarding freedom of expression and their current government it’s incompatible with the EU.
[Daphne – You miss the very obvious point that Turkey CAN’T JOIN THE EU unless those matters are solved.]
One of the main reasons why the Turkish government was considering joining the EU was because accession would have inhibited the military top brass from staging coups and ousting them.
Now that quite a lot of the generals have been imprisoned it will be interesting to see how things play out.
‘Daphne – Have you been to a village in Gozo (or Malta) recently? It’s like being in Frankfurt, isn’t it?’
So? I suppose you’re not going to ignore the fact that the population in those villages is not as large as Turkey’s. I wasn’t trying to argue that we were somehow better as people than they were either.
What if Turkey succeeds in overcoming the present difficulties, subscribe to the criteria and accelerate the democratic process?
It borders the Mediterranean, has some of the largest docks and shipbuilding industries, lies squarely next to the Caucasus, is the gateway to the black sea and has been for the past sixty years, the main Nato base in eastern Europe .
It’s a secular state, and has looked west since Ataturk.
If the Turks wish to be integrated, why look the other way?
True, the Cypriot question and the admission of the genocide are sticky issues, but would isolation help? When considering it’s other bordering countries, Syria, Iraq and Iran, some form of integration makes economical and strategic sense. Using it to cushion the EU risks alienating the population amplfying the Islamists’ power.
Coming out against Turkish ‘culture’ the way Jeffrey did denotes outdated right wing thinking. Especially since he didn’t mention the democratic issues currently at stake.
If the accession process serves as a catalyst for change, so much better.
The EU was born in Rome, it’s evolving to Byzantium.
Byzantium my Theodosian foot. Modern-day Turkey has a rather dim view of that Byzantine heritage, and has all but supplanted it with Ottoman heritage in its national psyche.
Look, I know JPO isn’t exactly flavour of the month, but in our rush to heap ridicule upon the man, we shouldn’t forget that there are very rational arguments on Turkey’s EU membership, and indeed, on its European identity.
‘the main Nato base in eastern Europe’
And there were instances where they were quite unreliable as allies during the last decade.
‘It’s a secular state, and has looked west since Ataturk.’
Secular is not necessarily liberal. The military top brass and the traditional guardians of Ataturk’s secular legacy were quite authoritarian The current government is quite busy undermining Ataturk’s work too.
‘When considering it’s other bordering countries, Syria, Iraq and Iran, some form of integration makes economical and strategic sense.’
But have you considered Turkey’s ambitions as a nation and their recent political history? This was a country that tried to use a Nato summit to impose its will on another nation, Denmark. It has a history of bullying lesser states.
Turkey’s interests are never going to be other EU country’s interests. Its Balkan neighbours are particularly afraid of it.
As with Russia, geopolitics alone is enough to render it unsuitable to join the EU.
I’m not saying it’s a walk in the park. I would just consider the risks if the EU were to unanimously take Jeffrey’s stand.
The criteria are stringent but the political situation as well as the army’s excuse to take on the secular cause with the resulting tension shouldn’t be ignored.
After all, both Spain and Greece went through their own phase of the military dabbling with democratic rule only a couple of decades ago
Maybe the Turks consider the EU what we used to think twenty years ago.
Let us say supporting their bid would be taken to mean trusting the goodwill to satisfy the criteria.
Regarding the Kurds, could their interests be better served if Turkey were to have the backing of the EU, given the feedback essential of the Iraqis?
We’re back to the US if that’s the case.
As for the Ottoman heritage, shouldn’t that put them closer to Vienna than we would ever be?
Che razza di gente.
It is rumoured that Labour will appoint JPO as ambassador to Pyongyang, for his diplomatic prowess and scientific skills in rocket launches, which according to the PL is a right of every sovereign state.
It’s not an MP’s job to take part in street protests, so let’s be careful here. We’ve already had one god-almighty diplomatic gaffe when Guido de Marco, Alfred Sant and Eddie Fenech Adami wore a keffiyah, with the latter two marching alongside the Palestinian protestors.
[Daphne – I disagree. MPs can and should get involved. The problem with the three you mention is that they were no ordinary MPs, but the prime minister, the deputy prime minister and the leader of the Opposition. That’s different.]
On the subject of Turkey, this is a bit like Beowulf and Northern Ireland. Jeffery Pullicino Orlando is right to question the government’s mandate to support Turkey’s EU bid (or that of any other country, for that matter). His reasoning may be flawed, but in the absence of expert opinions, dilettantes will fill the void. And this is one area where the void is most keenly felt.
No, Guido de Marco was president. This was during Alfred Sant’s stint in government.
[Daphne – Guido de Marco was president from 1999 to 2004, so no.]
And MPs should be very careful where they get involved. Arab street protests are rarely the clean-cut, all-about-human-rights, non-partisan affairs that grace the streets of the enlightened capitals of the world. By all means, let them vote in parliament to bomb the living daylights out of Gaddafi, but to march alongside the protestors with their various motivations and symbols…. I’d tread carefully.
What’s more, it is surely disingenuous to march down Republic Street with the insurgents (or their supporters) and then not raise your voice in parliament or within your party, to at least question your leader’s fence-sitting policy and pillory the likes of John Dalli. What sort of consistency is that?
[Daphne – On this latter point, I agree.]
I remember a photograph, showing all three at the President’s office in Valletta. Then it was either after 1999, with de Marco president, or 1996-1998, with Mifsud Bonnici president but not in the picture. You’re right about the dates. My apologies for a befuddled memory.
“these words are very indicative of what sort of man we’re dealing with here. He’s one of those ready to jump on the most convenient of bandwagons. He did that with Divorce, now he’s feeling all gay and saying Malta is lagging behind in legalizing gay marriage (in reality it’s at par with most of the European countries and USA states) so he’s pondering on whether to propose another bill or not, and now, of course, he’s trying to appeal to the xenophobic ones inhabiting these islands.”
http://teandrain.blogspot.com/2012/04/1565-all-over-we-hear-jeffrey-polishing.html
Many years ago, the Dental Association of Malta organised a European Regional Organisation of the World Dental Council.
One of the Turkish delegates stood up and said that ERO/FDI should have a website and email address.
Everybody, except the Israelis, thought that the Turks were talking double Dutch; this innovative system of communication was then not commonly in use.
Just heard on the news that Joseph Muscat has gone to Libya on a private plane. The last time that Lawrence Gonzi used a private plane all hell broke loose in the Labour camp.
But Joseph is pratikament priministru.
Love it when people put the words “Labour” and “camp” next to each other.”