In The Times, a year ago
The Times, Wednesday, December 1, 2010
PL DENIES BATEMAN LINKS CLAIMS – PN ASKS FOR EXPLANATIONS
The Labour Party this evening denied PN claims that it had links with Bateman, the Israeli company which was one of the bidders for the power station extension contract.
The PL in a two-line statement described as ‘lies’ claims made earlier by the PN.
In its statement, the Nationalist Party had called on Labour leader Joseph Muscat to explain the ‘good links’ which the Israeli ambassador had said existed between the Labour Party and Bateman.
The comment by the Israeli ambassador was made during a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and was revealed in the Public Accounts Committee yesterday by Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt.
The PN said it was very worrying for all those who believed in transparency that the PL leader ‘had contacts’ with Bateman while the company was bidding and putting political pressure to win the contract.
The ambassador had described Dr Muscat’s contacts as ‘good’ and even said that it was Dr Muscat himself who raised the issue during a meeting, the PN said.
It had also resulted, the PN said, that Bateman had insider information, which it should have never held.
It also used former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert to try to pressure the Maltese government.
The PN said that Dr Muscat should explain what links he had with Bateman, why he never revealed them, how many meetings had been held between the PL and Bateman, what interests Dr Muscat had in these contacts and what he was hiding.
The Auditor and the EU had shown that the authorities had done nothing wrong in this issue, the PN said. Now it was Dr Muscat’s time to explain.
The Labour Party while denying the claims said that should the PN want more, it just needed to wait a bit, the PL said.
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He’ll play the old card next.
You are hilarious at desperate times. Never so clear. Of all people, do you really think Austin Gatt is credible? Look into the Arriva’s fiasco and how this government was lynched (metaphorically speaking) by its own back bencher due to Austin Gatt’s arrogance. You have to be credible in life. What’s good is good and what’s bad is bad, ditto. It doesn’t matter how many followers you have. What matters is how many of them you will convince through your sheer arrogance. Take my suggestion, have a break and drink a herbal tea to calm you down. It really shows that you are irritated. I hope you upload my comment. By the way, I am not an elve.
Austin Gatt? It was the Israeli ambassador himself who told the PM that Bateman had good relations with Labour and please note that the Israeli embassy never denied what Austin Gatt revealed.
You sure sound like one. It is immediately obvious from the tell tale “Arriva fiasco”, one of the Labour mantras that you have all been repeating ad nauseam.
I bet that as a fourteen-year-old you never faced L-Ghaqda Nisa Laburisti attacking your school? I bet that you never had police throwing tear gas at you to suppress your freedom of speech.
The government was not lynched by a backbencher due to Austin Gatt’s arrogance.
This government was lynched because it did not give in to an egomaniac blackmailer who could not stomach the fact that he was not good enough or reliable enough to become a minister.
And as further proof of his unworthiness to hold high office, he vented his disappointment and spleen on everyone and anyone he could, to the point of becoming the laughing stock of the nation.
I have every respect for Austin Gatt. Let us not forget that from a country whose government quaked at the mention of a computer he transformed us into a nation with one of the best e-government services in Europe.
As with regards to Arriva, the public transport was run by a bunch of lawless cowboys who answered to no one and would NEVER have made any sort of reform. I use public transport on a daily basis and, though still not perfect, it is a great improvement on what we had.
Of course we’re irritated by the gross stupidity that comes out every time a PL spokesman opens his or her mouth. Anyone with more than a pea-brain would be.
Will you please stop calling Arriva a fiasco?
I use the buses every day and am very satisfied with the service I am getting.
Perhaps you should start using them as well.
With the savings I am making from not using my car I don’t need the electricity bill reduction pantomime as proposed by Labour, thank you.
That would explain the visit to Auschwitz.
And we are all wondering from where is (M)LP getting all this money and pompous ad campaign. My guess is as good as yours.
Perhaps we should start asking who the Maltese representatives for Bateman are.