Muscat drops out without having the good manners to inform his hosts, and sends his wife instead
Hellooooo, orrajt, okej?
The Labour Party leader failed to turn up to a tour of the general hospital’s Rainbow Ward, a visit which he himself had requested for electoral publicity purposes.
And what’s worse is that his minders did not even have the basic good manners or knowledge of how things are done to ring the people there waiting for him and say that they were not to expect the party leader after all because blah blah blah he’s hurt his leg again/his hair transplant is playing up, but his deputy leader, Louis Grech, will be deputising for him and going instead.
Ma tarax. Dawn sinifiteti. Dan il-mexxej! Jista jaghmel x’iz-zikk irid, mhux hekk.
So the Leadership Vehicle rolls up at the general hospital and the welcoming party see to their surprise that only Michelle rolls out of it. Where is her husband – in the luggage boot?
She confronts them with that ‘I’m a sugar-coated iron claw’ insipid smile and simpers “Hello, hello, orrajt, okej? Illum jien gejt!”
Unbelievable. If you by the principle that the majority of the country chooses leaders who are made in their own image, then why isn’t Britain led by Vicky Pollard or Duane Duggs?
The press should have been ablaze with this, but The Times didn’t even bother. The Labour leader fails to turn up and sends his wife instead? So what?
First off – when a politician demands a tour of a hospital ward purely for his own electoral benefit, he knows he is inconveniencing a very busy group of medical staff and disrupting their routine. So he should respect that. And when he summons the media, he should know that they are there to quizz him, not his wife. So he should respect that too. And turn up.
Secondly – the wives of party leaders have no constitutional role and no role within the party. They might do a bit of charity visiting here and there, but that’s about it. They do that in their own capacity, and not in substitute for their husband. It was the party leader who asked for a tour of the hospital ward. So if he didn’t want to go (rudely and stupidly) then his party deputy should have gone instead, which is why he is a deputy in the first place – to deputise for the leader.
The wife should not have gone at all as in situations like this she is merely an adjunct to her husband and if her husband does not go then she has no place there. There’s the protocol and it’s correct.
The Malta Independent reported:
Labour leader Joseph Muscat was conspicuously absent during a visit at the Rainbow Ward in Mater Dei Hospital. This event followed an earlier news conference in Paola in which Joseph Muscat repeatedly refused to comment when probed about remarks made by former Labour deputy leader Anglu Farrugia on his forced resignation last December. In an interview published on Sunday Dr Farrugia accused the Labour leader of “political murder” in his regard.
Meanwhile for the very first time in this campaign the wife of the Labour leader took the limelight, heading the party’s delegation which also included PL president Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi and Lydia Abela, secretary of the executive committee.
The Malta Independent can confirm that Dr Muscat was also expected to attend but for some reason did not turn up.
As a matter of fact Dr Victor Calvagna, the head of the medical team at Rainbow Ward, remarked that he was surprised about Dr Muscat’s absence when greeting Mrs Muscat.
During her visit she toured the facilities and spent some time with parents, in this ward which caters for children diagnosed with cancer.
Last month Dr Calvagna openly denied claims made by the Labour Party, that the main cause of cancer in the Maltese Islands are power station emissions. According to Dr Calvagna smoking is by far the main cause.
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X’injoranza ta’ nies.
Allura!
Forsi hassu hazin!
Forsi dabbar il-virus tal-influwenza!
Mhux kulhadd ghandu dritt jimrad!
[Daphne – He was at a press conference, looking and sounding perfectly healthy, just a few minutes before. Also, this does not detract from the argument that he should have telephoned to say he would not be going, and that it is his deputy leader, not his wife, who should have gone instead.]
Reggie, qed ticcajta hux?
FFS I really hope so.
mhux li kien jahasra!
We’ll see more of this. His thinking? ‘Its in the bag, why should I give a shit?’
That’s what people should be looking at, Harry. The thinking is stinking. Go to source.
His absence should have been covered by one of the Deputy Leaders, not by the wifey. Get it?
Dr. Calvagna should have sent his wife to receive the guests then …
Kemm jinqalaw tal-labour biex jibghatu lil xi hadd iehor minflokk. Jew Franco Debono jew Michelle.
The posture of the lady on the right of the picture says it all – hands across and standing backwards – to me she is saying ‘Stay away from me. I’m really pissed off here.’
Indeed, the body language speaks volumes.
Yes, as does that of Stefan Zrinzo in the background, picking his nose.
After reading the news below, I felt scared.
What does this all mean? Trying to gag ALL media through the BA?
Of course it will be done by referendum so nobody can say it’s not democratic.The average voter will be overwhelmed with a hotch-potch of issues in a Constitution.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130206/elections-news/time-to-update-constitution-muscat.456388
Yes, there will come a time, at the rate it’s going, where programs will have to be vetted beforehand.
Bondi couldn’t care less, and so it should be.
According to Chris Cardona – a candidate of the Malta Labour Party Muvument and a product of the Super One news room – Lou Bondi is not allowed to make any comments during his programs. Unbelievable.
We can always say that partnership won.
Don’t know what you’re scared of. It’s not like the press is saying anything anyway. They’ve all already become Labour’s spokesman, starting from The Times.
Joseph was probably busy taking notes from Napoleon III, ruler of the Second French Empire, as he prepares to set the stage for the second republic…..
Ahseb u ara Zrinzo Azzopardi on the right of the photo. Totally bored and rooting up his nose to boot.
x’misthija.
Imagine how a heartbroken parent, there with their sick child, would feel when this gushy woman breezes in and simpers.
So in this Second Republic, are we to expect Joseph remodelling his sought-after PM role as President?
Is that why the wife has been paraded ad nauseum?
Are we looking at the intended Presidential Pair?
I thought the young Abelas were exploited by the great Joseph for a reason that had something to do with deposing the father.
This is getting worse than a twisted, tordid Atlas Shrugged.
HRH Michelle. Labour needs to learn that wives of politicians have no party role.
If anyone wants a picture to discuss body language this is the one.
Ah, but he is the new monarch of Malta and she, his princess: “Id-duka u d-dukessa ta’ Dar il-Bniet ta’ Orajthi”.
With all due respect to Mrs Muscat the doctor should not have entertained her.
If \i was asked by the leader of the opposition to hold a press event in my ward and then the leader of the opposition does not turn up I would say “sorry but I should have been informed about this before the event” and cancelled the whole thing.
Granted he was a gentleman but sometimes one needs to stand up to such bad manners.
Whatever the excuse the least one should do if not attending is to inform your host.
Somehow I don’t think Dr Calvagna will have much of a career in josephmuscatdotcom’s looming regime.
Perhaps I’m misreading the situation but this rather reminds me of the Jesse Owens incident in the 1936 Olympics.
My guess is that the visit was booked some time ago as the Rainbow Ward was considered an excellent setting for some more rants against GonziPN and his evil click who built a cancer factory to make little children sick.
Unfortunately, before this could happen, Dr Calvagna spoke out and effectively annulled any political mileage the visit could have offered, so a thwarted furious Muscat refused to go and shake the doctor’s hand and perhaps have to say something nice about him.
I have first hand information, that:
(a) Rainbow ward is for (mostly) terminally ill children with very hard working staff who give their lives on a vocational basis (and attitude);
(b) there are medical and educational staff at that ward to provide children with continuing education in the hope that when (if) they leave hospital, they can easily carry on with their studies at school;
(c) this is a parent’s worst nightmare – watching your own child die slowly, the staff were not very happy (mildly put) to have the media, cameras, scrum and politicians parade through with big smiles, and flashing cameras, splashing the families’ and patients’ misery to the world for the benefit of “Joseph for Prime Minister”;
(d) they accepted to be unduly disrupted (lost day of lessons, health issues (microbes etc. brought in by visitors at high risk to patients and undue publicity) at the request of the leader of the opposition;
(e) staff were greeted with “hello, alright? okay?” as were the patients.
How can you be all right and okay when your child is dying?
All for votes. Absolutely revolting.
After being greeted by Dr Calvagna and he idiotic ‘hello orrajt’ she actually asked him ‘Ghadek tissielet?’
Tissielet? Ma’ xiex?
My take on this episode is that:
1. Either Joseph Muscat 2013 wanted to make a public act of disrespect towards Dr. Calvagna for his recent clarification on the subject of cancer – so Muscat decided not to turn up.
2. Or Muscat 2013 was just afraid to have to turn up and have to either make an apology to Dr. Calvagna for misquoting his studies or face questions by the media on the subject in the presence of Dr. Calvagna. How embarassing could that be?
Malta Taghna Lkoll. Really.