Reporters: apparently the situation is worse than we think

Published: February 26, 2013 at 11:24pm

One of the questions which Herman Grech asked the PM and the Opposition Leader at the end of the debate was this:

Q. If you lose the election, will you resign?

LG: No.

JM: I’m thinking of the 9th March. I haven’t thought about that (or words to that effect).

Now, you’re all sane people of reasonable intelligence. Isn’t it obvious to you that the question was about resignation from the party leadership? It’s obvious, right? Even if it weren’t obvious for the obvious reasons of common sense, it would be obvious because Muscat has not other position from which to resign other than that of party leader.

But some reporters appear to have interpreted Lawrence Gonzi’s words as meaning that if he loses the election he won’t resign as prime minister.

Yes, if I had a press card I would burn it right now, in protest. Kif jghid il-Malti: tumucc.

———-

The Ugly People were in the audience at the debate tonight: that bipedal turd Jeffrey, the ghastly Ronnie Pellegrini and some pseudo-switchers.

Kevin Decesare must have been delighted to have Jeffrey on his turf. I wonder what he was doing there. Did he go along to upset the prime minister or to suck up to Joseph Muscat?

Both, I suppose.




42 Comments Comment

  1. Matthew says:

    Give me a wall to bang my head against.

    There really is no hope.

  2. Wilson says:

    If someone really interpreted it like that, they ought not be called journalists. This comment has really taken me aback; how can someone think like that?

  3. David says:

    I don’t think the reporters were so dumb. They expected the PM to say he would resign as party leader if he loses the election.

  4. bystander says:

    No no no he meant resign his membership of Charlie’s Bingo.

  5. Karl Flores says:

    Joseph played the fool and didn’t answer the question whether he’d resign or not if the power station wasn’t finished on time. I always thought he was bluffing about resigning.

    • Wilson says:

      If he was simply bluffing about resigning, it is not so much of an issue. It is bluffing about the rest which is quite disconcerting.

      • observer says:

        I think that, most of all, il-ginger tried to act the part of an experienced stateman. He was obviously projecting himself like that for the benefit of really undecided voters – what one in truth calls ‘floaters’.

        Aplomb and calm were to be his hallmark – not rubbish, crap, and fact-twisting, as he usually applies when addressing the hordes of his mindless gullibles.

  6. Gahan says:

    After an electoral defeat the PN party statute states that the leader has to present his resignation or ask for confirmation as party leader.

    Something to that effect.

  7. Jozef says:

    He snapped back when Herman asked him about the hunting issue.

    Joseph thinks The Times isn’t accessible to hunters.

    I don’t know which is more insolent, implying hunters to be troglodytes or The Times to cater for a particular English speaking mittelkless.

    • La Redoute says:

      Maybe he doesn’t know that a former Times news editor is a hunter.

    • Antoine Vella says:

      Joseph Muscat was being disingenuous. The debate was transmitted on Net and One so he wasn’t addressing the readers of The Times at all.

      As usual he was lying and taking us for fools.

  8. AZ says:

    http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/elections2013/Debate-reveals-Gonzi-tied-to-power-and-Muscat-hawkish-on-migration-20130226

    What about the above article and in particular its title from Malta Today?

    Talk about biased reporting. It seems as if all media with the exception of The Malta Independent is trying to get Labour into power.

    I hope they get what is coming for them after the 9th of March. Pity we are in it with them.

    [Daphne – I’m proud to work for The Malta Independent. It’s the most honest newspaper in this campaign.]

    • Jozef says:

      Maltatoday is only interested in getting rid of Lawrence Gonzi. So what’s new?

    • Antoine Vella says:

      Saviour Balzan felt he needn’t inform his readers of the Labour connections of Tarcisio Mifsud. It’s a stupid attitude because it assumes that people are not getting their news from other sources.

  9. Ian says:

    No! Who interpreted that reply as ‘no I won’t resign as prime minister?’ Not The Times, surely..

  10. stephen says:

    TOM has been struck off my bookmark list.

    TMI has taken its place.

  11. Giovanni says:

    Labour are happy the way the debate was run. Obviously because Joseph did not have Lou Bondi or Peppi Azzopardi to drive the questions home. Instead we had the hidden hand of Keith Schembri, who might have given them extra credit on moneys due.

  12. TROY says:

    Yes,all the usual suspects were there, but our prime minister stood tall and answered like the true statesman that he is.

    Shame on them, and good on you Dr.Gonzi.

  13. Wormfood says:

    Yet another example of the yellow journalism that passes for information in this country. They are really scraping that barrel if they have to resort to these anal tactics to provoke outrage and increase their viewing numbers.

  14. La Redoute says:

    A key question that Joseph Muscat should answer:

    What will Keith Schembri receive in return for his services to Muscat’s party?

  15. Bertrand says:

    Hi Daphne,

    Not sure this post was directed at the TOM live blog (my doing), but if so, I wouldn’t be so hasty in burning your press card, real or imaginary.

    I’d fire myself if it ever crossed my mind that he was talking about refusing to leave Castille. Apologies to anyone if the blog wasn’t clear enough on that point.

    [Daphne – No, it wasn’t a reference to you. But thank you for clearing things up. The press card is imaginary. I never had one.]

  16. R Camilleri says:

    Reporters should pick up on Muscat’s response, that he is only thinking till 9th March. I hope that he has planned a little bit ahead as life does not stop on 9th March.

    • Jenny says:

      Yes, he’s only thinking up to the 9th March and will promise us and smile pleasantly all he can to get there. After that he’s IN and so are we all to dance to his music.

    • Tabatha White says:

      It’s probably just the illusion that will come to an end on 9th March. IF they slink in, the party will experience MLP takeover. The moviment with no name having served its purpose.

  17. Mario says:

    I’m sure Joseph knew the questions beforehand. The scumbag appeared too sure of himself. Insomma kif ighid il-Malti..laghab ghall-gallarija.

  18. Daisy says:

    Has any journalist contacted Anglu Farrugia to ask him if he knew anything about the drugs case of Hal Safi?

    Or how he would acted if he knew.

    Or if he denied that he knew anything, why it was kept from him as one of the deputy leaders of the Partit Laburista.

  19. charlie says:

    The Labour leaning journalist Christian Peregin asked Lawrence Gonzi about donations/loans from Vassallo Group, but he did not have the guts (or did he do it purposely) to ask josephmuscat.com from where his party is getting all the campaign financing or whether he had joined businessmen on ther yachts oir stayed in their villas overseas.

  20. Wayne Hewitt says:

    The more glaring point is that by his own admittance, Joseph Muscat has no plan beyond the 9th March.

    I believe this is even more shocking.

  21. Qeghdin Sew says:

    “I wonder what [JPO] was doing there.”

    Probably preparing his questions for the leaders, given he’s a press card-toting ‘journalist’. Assuming he still has one.

  22. A Montebello says:

    I thought Herman Grech was excellent …. but the reporting of the debate in today’s The Times was plain biased.
    Whats going on?

  23. Lady Oscar says:

    Daphne…I love you!!! in the most platonic of ways….

  24. A. Charles says:

    With the colourful and elaborate Boris Johnson type of insult ” that bipedal turd Jeffrey ” , I feel that my colleague in the dental profession should disappear into oblivion.

    I love this insult and totally agree with its appropriateness.

  25. OMG says:

    Isn’t it obvious what Mighty Joe meant by his answer? It means that he doesn’t see BEYOND 9th March. What is important for him is to be the youngest PM ever. That’s his be all end all.

Leave a Comment