Will somebody ring Marlene Business Forum to ask what she thinks about the Chamber of Commerce’s statement?
It will serve as a little distraction from her current preoccupation with posting pictures of her cats and Christmas tree on Facebook (and digging up years-old photos of herself dressed as Santa and posing with stuffed reindeer and pretending they were taken yesterday).
Marlene Mizzi bills herself as the first woman ever to have sat on the board at the Chamber of Commerce. Let’s be discreet and not go into the whys and wherefores, because it was a long, long time ago.
She is now chief of Labour’s Business Forum.
So we really should be told what she thinks about the Chamber’s statement yesterday afternoon that leaving Malta without a budget would be the height of irresponsibility, causing untold damage to the economy.
Come on, Marlene. We’re waiting. This, and not your kittens and baubles, is what you should be talking about in your present official position as a Labour politician and the party’s business forum chief.
Please be serious. We’re not playing games here.
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Like Joseph, Marlene delivers.
In her husband’s official limo.
What’s the use? These people are too thick-skinned. As long as she gets her toys delivered by her husband’s official car, then everything is OK.
Labour Business Forum? Forget that – that was only a gimmick.
One of those rare occasions; I agree, we’re not playing games here.
Prime Minister Gonzi should not have driven full speed ahead towards a concrete wall. Now its useless for him or his apologists to speak of “irresponsible behaviour” of others when the writing on the wall was so damn clear!
[Daphne – What rubbish. The budget always comes round at the same time of year. You don’t fail to present a budget just because you know it’s going to be defeated. That’s giving in to blackmail and besides, is totally incorrect. The government is OBLIGED to present a budget. How MPs vote is a separate matter.]
That’s a load of bull Daphne. What’s more worrying is that I’m convinced that you totally believe what you’re saying. I mean: you actually think you’re right! The government SHOULD have gone for elections on the day that Franco Debono declared in Parliament that he’s going to vote against the budget. The annual budget should have been the obligation of the New Government, whether it’s Labour or PN who’s in power.
[Daphne – That’s because you probably have no respect for parliament, for procedure, or for the electorate. The correct maxim to follow in this (as in probably most other situations) is: Do your duty and let others do their worst. This is exactly what has happened here. The government did its duty in preparing and presenting the budget, and now it’s up to the rest to do their duty or do their worst. If you can’t understand this way of thinking, or call it a load of bull, then, well…]
Good one! No respect for Parliament! And the current administration has been showing unfailingly that it respects Parliament?
Yeah right!
With people thinking in this way, I am better off booking a ticket to Tristan da Cunha.
Rubbish, as if an elected government throws in the towel as soon as any backbencher starts whining. If Franco thinks he has an obligation towards parliament, the PM’s to his mandate.
Yours is poltical posturing at its worst. Joseph Muscat will have a lot to answer for as soon as the implications of backdated measures are fully understood.
Given that most of his ‘ministers’ keep coming up on TV or radio, with reservations to this, that and oh look, how about the other, the confusion’s kicked in. You just don’t have clue, all of you. If anything, those in the know, and who stand to gain have distanced themselves at a diplomatic distance.
Every other day he remembers another measure to include. He already corrected himself twice this week. I suppose he calls it consultation.
If this is any shape of things to come we’ll have everyone waiting for a next move from early September onwards, every year. Nice.
Look who’s lecturing about “respect for parliament ” ! Supporting a government who has made a parody of parliament by failing to bring draft legislation for debate and a vote in parliament, fearing that the government may be defeated !
@ mandango70
An interesting position. Taking it further, one may ask why you are wasting time eating, seeing that you are going to die sooner or later? Why the hassle and expense?
Christ. You make Neville Chamberlain look like a warmonger.
Hasn’t Franco Debono humiliated the Prime Minister enough?
Il-GWU mhux se taccetta li l-COLA ma tinghatax mill-1 ta’ Jannar
Il-General Workers Union qed taghmel car illi mhix se taccetta li fl-1 ta’ Jannar li gej il-haddiema kollha, tal-Gvern u tal-privat, ma jinghatawx iz-zieda ghall-gholi tal-hajja li thabbret fil-Budget 2013, u kif stabbilit bil-mekkanizmu tal-Incomes Policy li kien maqbul mill-imsiehba socjali kollha u l-Gvern. Il-GWU qed issostni dan ghaliex il-ftehim tal-Incomes Policy ma jsemmi xejn dwar approvazzjoni jew le ta’ xi budget.
Fil-fatt, l-Incomes Policy jistabilixxi car illi l-percentwali stabbilit ikun applikat fuq il-paga minima liema ammont jizdied fl-ewwel ta’ Jannar ta’ kull sena bl-ammont tal-COLA. L-istess Incomes Policy jipprovdi wkoll li z-zieda ghall-gholi tal-hajja tkun effettiva fuq iz-zidiet li jaqghu wara l-Ewwel ta’ Jannar wara li d-data tkun stabbilita.
Dak li normalament jigri wara li tithabbar zieda ghall-gholi tal-hajja fil-Budget, l-Employment Relations Board japprova dik iz-zieda kif imhabbra u mbaghad il-Ministru responsabbli jippublika l-avviz legali ghal dan l-effett u b’hekk tkun tista tinghata z-zieda tal-COLA. Ghaldaqstant, il-GWU ma tara xejn xi jzomm milli dan il-process jitwettaq.
Barra minn dan, il-Ftehim Kollettiv li kien iffirmat ftit tal-gimghat ilu ghall-haddiema tal-Gvern jghid car li z-zieda ghall-gholi tal-hajja hija inkluza fiz-zieda miftehma f’dan il-ftehim kollettiv li diga qieghed fis-sehh u ghaldaqstant din iz-zieda ghandha tinghata awtomatikament.
Fil-Budget il-Gvern wieghed ukoll li z-zieda tal-gholi tal-hajja tinghata b’mod shih lill-pensjonanti u ghalhekk xejn m’ghandu jzomm li l-pensjonanti jiehdu dak li huwa taghhom bi dritt mill-Ewwel ta’ Jannar li gej.
Sadanittant, il-GWU se tkun qed tinforma lill-ghaqdiet ta’ min ihaddem sabiex taghmel il-punt taghha car biex dawn jaghtu z-zieda ghall-gholi tal-hajja fl-1 ta’ Jannar 2013 u b’hekk jevitaw diversi kumplikazzjonijiet li jistghu jinholqu wara dik id-data.
Din ohra bla zejt f’wiccha. Fejn kienet meta ghamilna snin shah bil-wage freeze?
Baqax min jiddetta u jirikatta? Daz-zgur! Ma tridx li l-Labour Party jidher ikrah li vvota kontra z-zieda. GWU ghadha pogguta mal-PL kif dejjem kienet,
Beda’ t-tahwid.
The opposition always votes against the budget, even if it is the best of budgets. So nothing is wrong about that.
[Daphne – There is plenty wrong with that. The Opposition votes in favour of many bills and motions brought by the government, and the budget is no different. There is no law of procedure saying that the Opposition has to vote against the budget.]
The thing is that it is one from the government’s side that said he is voting against. The problem with the government is that it has only a majority of one.
By the way, Franco is in Rome at the moment. Nobody knows if he will be back by Monday to make it to Parliament. Who knows maybe he is scared to vote against or else changed his mind and abstain.
Daphne: What a stupid comment you have made ! You wrote ” The Opposition votes in favour of many bills and motions brought by the government, and the budget is no different”.
FIRST: You then admit that it is not true that the PL is always saying “No”.
SECOND. There is a BIG difference between the Bills and motions which do not have any effect on the government if the government suffers a defeat on them. And the Budget, which is a CONFIDENCE VOTE IN THE GOVERNMENT. If the government is defeated on the budget, it has no other option but to ask the president to dissolve parliament and call an election !
U mur l’hemm, Eddy.
Ishti jekk taf!
Sur Charlie Muscat; jekk il-Budget ma jghaddix, voldiri il-maggoranza ma tridtx li jghaddi. Il-GWU mhix f’posizzjoni li tghid lill-Parlament x’jaghmel.