The real deal is fighting Malta’s patch at the European Council, while the fraudster visits carnival floats
Published:
February 8, 2013 at 11:32am
While Lawrence Gonzi has been negotiating round the clock for funds for Malta at the toughest European Council meeting in years, this is what Joseph Muscat has been doing.
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The trouble with democracy is that it is about the quantity of votes, not the quality.
The bigger trouble with democracy is that those votes are used to undermine it.
Hence, Chairman Muscat and the People’s (un)Democratic Republic, etc.
so H.P. Baxxter what’s your preferred alternative to democracy and who defines “quality” ?
My preferred alternatives would be either non-universal suffrage where the hillbillies and hamalli aren’t allowed to vote (that includes me, but so be it) or universal suffrage where the politicians ignore the wishes of the hillbillies and hamalli.
What we have is a system where political programmes are tailored to the chavs, who are invariably the loudest voting segment, with the greatest lobbying power. The rest of us don’t even feature on the politicians’ radar screens, be they PN or MLP.
Oh and if no one else will do it, and to pre-empt your barb, I will define quality. Suit you?
King Carnival in person.
The role of King is reserved for Jason Micallef.
Partit tal-lejber… Partit tal-Karnival is-sena kollha.
I wouldn’t even begin to compare the two. We’ll be the laughing stock of the EU. He can tell them all about the carnival floats then with his appalling Burmarrad accent. I get shivers at the thought of having this clown running our country.
You should have seen him yesterday, addressing journalists in the most condescending tone.
Jargon and abbreviations littering every sentence.
At one point Scicluna tried to interject to explain further what he couldn’t, Joseph actually motioned him not to.
Can’t be seen as the bluffer next to someone getting carried away uncovering hard ideological economical theory now can we?
Running our country, and representing us in foreign fora. They’re going to think us deranged to have swapped one for the other.
He surely was in his element with all those masks.
In his photos, he is looking more and more like members of the Kim family of North Korea.
And he is developing the habit of looking at things, too.
We are going to hand over Malta on a silver plate to a Labour administration. It’s like building a house on solid ground and now we hand it over to Joseph who will have the luxury to fine-tune legislation and proposals.
Unfortunately, you are perfectly correct. There are too many people who should know better and yet ignore the fact that in many countries, not only in the EU, a large section of the population is struggling to make a decent living.
They believe that as we’ve had it so good, generally, they can trust a party and its leader who have time and again let us down not only economically but also in the most important decisions facing this country.
There are then the self-proclaimed switchers who, seeing where the wind is blowing, are just opportunists to satisfy their selfish ambitions
Think Franco.
I have a problem in understanding the costings of the Labour proposals.
Yesterday they claimed that these will cost 732m to implement over 5 years.
Do these 732m include the investment in the new energy plant?
If the 600m is included, then what MLP is effectively saying is that they will generate economic growth to reduce the deficit within EU prescriptions with a mere investment of 132m over 5 years. This is extremely ambitious (in the non-literal and British sense of the word). Which capital expenditure has ever returned such a high rate of return in only 5 years?
If it does not include the 600m, then the actual cost of Labour promises is 1.3 bn. Again it does not make sense because it would mean a wider deficit than what a Nationalist government has to offer. The PN manifesto and budget combined allude to a two pronged strategy: increasing capital expenditure to engender private investment and private consumption expenditure together with attempts at streamlining overheads. A case in point is the advertised government housing estates up for sale.
I wonder whether my analysis is flawed.
He said they’re keeping capital expenditure practically out of the equation, basically committing only ca.25% of the amounts projected for their proposals.
I don’t like it. Sketchy is an understatement.
It is very simple, really. Did they publish a broken-down analysis of the figure of 732 million?
That’s the only relevant question.
You are overlooking what Joseph Muscat has declared in a round-robin email, namely, that he will only put his promises into effect if the necessary funds are available, that he will not ‘borrow more’, and that if things go pear-shaped he will resign.
So, the campaign is simply a charade to enable him to get to be prime minister, then to play it by ear from then on.
It is the mid-nineties Alfred Sant and CET all over again – leaving the rest of us hoping that he will not then renege on his promise to cop out, even if we would still have to pick up the pieces.
The only thing that’s flawed, and which is much more to the point, is the way the average Maltese voter seems to use the hemorrhoids instead of brain cells for thinking purposes.
You’re right and wrong. According to the MLP the 600m will be borne by the private sector entirely. We, the energy consumers, will pay for the electricity generated together with the repayments on the 600m and the profit element of the people taking the risk.
According to KPMG it will cost 600m and result in an increase in tariffs of 5%; experts agree it will take more than 4 years to complete – if there are no serious delays like a single objector going to court.
According to the MLP it will cost 400m and result in a decrease in tariffs of 25%; additionally the new contractor will do all this in two years and pay the Government 30m as a ‘rigal’. The contractor will have the added bonus of locking in the gullible people of Malta for 25 years at rates unknown. Dak mhux ‘rigal’ – dik bomba!
Now, look me in the eyes, if you were a betting man, who would you believe? KPMG or Father Xmas?
Labour is not claiming that it will cost 600m. so you can’t include that amount in their own calculations.
Shades of the Libyan crisis two years ago:
http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2011/03/joseph-muscat-loses-hair-and-sleep-over-the-libyan-crisis/
Kulhadd mahluq ghal xoghlu. Il-maskerati u l-buffi ghall-karnival tajbin. Filwaqt li l-istatisti u d-dinjitarji mahluqin ghax-xoghol serju.
When I hear the opposition speaking, I feel sick. Poor Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi. What they have built will be shred to pieces.
Malta has changed completely and for the better in these 25 years thanks to them. P.N remains the party of prosperity. And yes, of the change we need and want.
This is a rather puerile comment. The PM was in Brussels because he is the PM. Joseph Muscat is not the PM and hence not in Brussels.
Slightly disingenuous to imply that JM was wasting time, whilst the PM was fighting Malta’s patch. If the roles were reversed, their actions wouldn’t have been very different.
[Daphne – But the results would have been.]
Exact scenario two years ago. Gonzi facing crucial hours during the Libyan uprising and Muscat visiting the floats.
He has had a very easy ride so far: his only concerns were his image, confetti, balcony at headquarters, podiums and how to replace his Robin when he disliked his own. (Remember Muscat citing Gonzi/Busuttil as Batman and Robin immediately after Simon’s Deputy Leader’s election?)
Why is everyone so sure this clown is going to win? Am I being too hopeful?
Yes. Prepare for the worst.
What’s with the over-sized raincoat?
Jekk hu ragel Joseph Muscat ghandu jitlob ghar-rizenja ta’ Tony Zarb dwar dak li qal dwar l’imbottaturi li ser jibda jaghti fit tenders jekk l’impiegati tal-kumpanija partikolar jkunu membri tal-GWU. Hekk titlob l’igulija ta’ min hu serju u denju li jmexxi pajjiz, Joseph Muscat. La wasal biex qal din il-hrafa sinjal li kellu l-barka ta’ xi hadd kbir fil-Labour.
Jiena ma nistax nifhem x’ser jaghmel Tony Zarb jekk ikun hemm hafna kumpanniji li jkollom l’impjagti membri tal-GWU?
Lil min ser jinbotta? U bliema moghd?
Ser jibda jindahhal jew jedded lil membri tal-board tal-kuntratti? Ma’ nohodiex bi kbira ghax min tafu issaqsix ghalih!
Tony Zarb ma jafx x’qed jghid ghax din hija korruzzjoni kbira u m’hux dekor ghall-poplu Malti ji fil-pajjiz ikun hawn Unions bhal dawn. Din mentalita’ korrotta u grazzi ghal hanin Alla din il-mentalita’ inqerdet mill-pajjiz ghax dawn kienu affarijiet li kienu jsiru fi zmien gvernijiet Laburisti biss.
Dan iffiser li fil-programm eletorali tal-Labour ser jippermettu li jsiru dawn l-affarijiet?
King Carnival in persona.
Joseph Muscat mhux biss giddieb imma anke jmeri il-verita’ tal-fatti.
Issa qeighed imeri dak li qal minn fommu Anglu Farrugia.
Tajjeb ukoll. U dan kien id-deputat mexxej tieghu, ahseb u ara x’jaghmel ma’ nies ohra!
Xi Prim Ministru jkollna jekk jaghmel hekk ma’ nies prominenti bhal dawk tal-EU?
@ ajs
So I am not alone in this, but since no one brought it up, I thought I was imagining things, or something slipped by me.
My gut feeling is that they are reserving this week to persuade the gullible voters that they must be right because they are spewing a lot of figures in the millions range.
Whoever is not used to such figures will surely be impressed…right?
He’s trying to attract the carnival float-ers.
Congratulations to our dear Prime Minister Dr. Lawrence Gonzi for obtaining 1.12 billion euros in EU funds.
Well done and thank you so very much.
Was that a body bag he is wearing ?
PM Gonzi secures over a billion euro and PM Muscat is going to enjoy the benefit. That’s life. And Richard Cachia Caruana (whom Muscat et al voted out) was behind it all
http://oi48.tinypic.com/2ii7mn5.jpg
GonziPN ought to be ashamed of himself. Securing JUST €1.12 billion for this blessed country. Fejn hu Doktor Sant (Tal-Partnership rebah)?
If Muscat cannot produce a breakdown of his cost estimates it is the same as going to the supermarket and you get charged without a bill being added up.
And if his professor economist says the same, then those who believe them should not ask for a bill anymore when they are paying up.
No wonder they always get their estimates wrong.
I just love your brains, Daphne – good one. Keep them coming.
gOnziPn managed to get 1.2 billion euros while JosephMuscatDotCom went to visit the carnival floats. No comment and no comparison.
The PL have started the 500 euro kantaliena again since the Tony Zarb and Toni Abela allegations have come out.
The candidates use it when they lose an argument during a debate as do their supporters when leaving comments.
I was annoyed when I first heard of this increase because I thought the time was not right and in my opinion they could have gone about it in a better way. But when I see what my country could have gone through because of the recession and instead came out with flying colours thanks to Dr Gonzi and his team, then my bitterness fades away.
The Labour supporters have forgiven bigger blunders of Joseph Muscat. The funds for the Sant Antnin Plant and Maghtab. Joseph Muscat tried to stop Malta from benefitting. And of course the no to the European Union.
What bothers me is that PN don’t use these facts to shame Muscat. I would plaster them everywhere.
The real deal brought 1.12 billion in EU funds for Malta for the period 2014-2020.
The fraudster had said it’s going to be ‘miljun u quart kontanti’.
So much for credibility.
We have now the result of Lawrence Gonzi (Malta’s Prime Minister) negotiations in Brussels. More than One Billion Euro are coming our way.
I hope that the Nationalist Party will – quickly – bring out their trumpet from the cupboard and start blasting away.
I’ll bet my last euro that he promised to build shelters for ALL floats if he is given the mandate to govern the country. Alas some people are gullible.
Dis-sena ghandna zewg rejiet tal-Karnival :’)
U xi murr nghamel ir-rein-boat wart. Better send lil Din while I’ll zgicc to the carnival maybe i’ll see xi koxxa zeggleg mall-frilli tal-karru.
Tal biki jew tad-dahq li Muscat jzur l-floats tal-Karnival u l-Prim Ministru jinnegozja biex jgib l-miljuni ta’ euros.
Dawk il-miljuni issa huma taghna, u ghalhekk hemm bzonn li jkollna gvern serju.
From MaltaToday: On the €1.128 billion EU funds obtained yesterday, Muscat said: “We welcome the funds obtained however more importantly it is about how the funds are used. We look forward to prove that we are able to use these funds in the best possible way if we are trusted to government.”
Hold it right there Joseph…if it were for you we wouldn’t have had those funds. How can I trust you to spend those funds in the best possible way when Gonzi showed that he can USE that money EFFICIENTLY.
That amount is not the result of a five minute walk-around some carnival float with the hands in the pocket of a dark black coat; that is the result of years of hard preparation work done by Richard Cachia Caruana, Marlene Bonnici and Lawrence Gonzi with the professional teams they lead.
It’s pertinent to recall that Joseph voted in favour of the removal of the highly experienced diplomat Richard Cachia Caruana from Permanent Representative to the EU:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/124549938/Malta-financial-allocation-2014-2020
Joseph’s party billboard was “Miljun lira fi flus kontanti”.
And Karmenu Vella boasts about the millions Mintoff brought to Malta.
Gonzi is now on record that under his leadership we are benefitting from the efficient use of a BILJUN Lira (€2.243 Billion).
On a sad note: We are on the path of dumping €63 million from these hard earned funds if we elect Joseph and his ship of fools .He prefers spending an extra €250 million on an LNG plant to run an unneeded power station which will put us some €600 million in the red, apart the danger it will create in Marsaxlokk Bay.
How fitting is the Maltese saying for this sad ending: “Hobz il-biezel kielu l-ghazzien”.
He said that Malta’s economy remained resilient in spite of Gonzi.
Smart City project is now a good project he says to the Dubai owners , while back in Malta he attacks Gonzi on the 7,000 jobs in IT which this project promised.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120611/local/tecom-pl-renew-support-for-smartcity.423872
Yes, hmmm. Mintoff begged and got a lot of money for – supposedly – Malta. But what the people gain? Korpi tax-xoghol, issikkar tac-cinturin, less vacation leave for all workers, very poor quality of imported products, the list is endless.
Any improvement in our standard of living is all due to successive P.N. governments.
Thank you Dr. Borg Olivier, Eddie and Lawrence you made us proud to be Maltese.
In these last weeks to the election and “let’s go for it” and do our bit to ensure the peace and prosperity we’ve enjoyed up to now.
The irony of all this, is that when they ask the P.L.
Where is all the money, for what you are promising, coming from?
They can say ” from the money that Gonzi was promised by the E.U.”
So that’s one problem solved. Even the gods seem to be helping J.Muscat, so why wonder if we mortals are backing him too?