Best of luck to the new ministers, and also to the rest of us
Silvio Parnis has learned that Joseph Muscat will say anything to get you to do what he wants. He promised him the Ministry for the South but has left him out of his cabinet completely.
My newspaper column about yesterday’s ministerial appointments is in The Malta Independent today (link below). Please do read it.
Just two corrections, because the column was written even as the appointments were being announced: Franco Mercieca is the parliamentary secretary for the disabled and the elderly, and not a minister.
And Louis Grech is 66, not 65 (his birthday is in a few days) and so will be 71, not 70, by the end of this term of government.
Here’s an important point.
So now we have a Minister of Justice and the Police who is a senior trial lawyer with a large client-base of notorious criminals. The same mistake was made with Guido de Marco 25 years ago. It should not have been repeated again now (coincidentally, with his disciple Manuel Mallia).
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http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-03-14/opinions/best-of-luck-to-the-new-ministers-and-also-to-the-rest-of-us-1166409733/
Silvio was never ministerial material. Joseph Muscat hoodwinked him, just as he tricked an entire nation.
Jista jkompli jigbor il-pilloli mil-lokijiet mela waqt li jkanta ‘come on boys, come on girls’.
Jose ukoll ghandu hafna cans biex joqghod ikanta ukoll.
Guido Demarco was a gentlemen Lawyer , Mallia is , well we will all find out very soon.
[Daphne – Guido de Marco was a senior trial lawyer with a client base of some very notorious criminals. Whether he was or was not a gentleman is beside the point. That is not the issue here.]
I completely concur with your point here, Daphne. It would be an outright conflict of interest, just like Dalli passed a law on Japanese car imports when we know he had partial representation of a Japanese car importer.
Actually Silvio se jkun wiehed min dawk id-drivers illi joqghod iqassam il-pirmpli bhal ma qal il-Guy.
I have read that Joe Mizzi, the new inrastructure minister has recently commented on Malta’s good prospects for finding oil.
But isn’t oil exploration part of Konrad Mizzi’s portofolio? Why is the other Mizzi commenting? Doesn’t he have enough on his plate already?
Is envy rearing its ugly head? A Tale of two Mizzi’s perhaps?
The last time he mentioned it, was it not in his garage?
Hear Hear Silvio Parnis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gCXLzfGCo4
Addio ministru tas-south, Silvio! Dak li ghidt fl-intervista kien kollu bluff tieghek. Ahjar tmur tinheba iew issib xi xiha.
Was Silvio elected?
[Daphne – Yes, with a struggle.]
So should a lawyer turn down his client since he is a notorious criminal?
[Daphne – I feel like tearing my hair out sometimes. No, gianni, that was not my argument. My point was and is that trial lawyers with a client base of notorious criminals should NOT be put in charge of the law courts, the Attorney General’s office and the police. I hope that I do not have to explain why this is a very bad idea.]
Daphne, coconuts take time to absorb information – please note that the harder the shell…
More like minister of the south pole considering he left him out in the cold.
Your argument disciminates against criminal trial lawyers as you imply that civil law or commercial law lawyers can be appointed ministers.
Can a trial lawyer be appointed as judge?
[Daphne – Discrimination does not come into it. I can think of very few cases in which a trial lawyer was made a judge. One of them is Ray Pace, so there you go.]
As far as I know Dr Raymond Pace was not a criminal lawyer. Besides in Malta as in the UK judges and magistrates are appointed from practising lawyers.
[Daphne – Yes he was.]
He could at least be given a Ministry in charge of drainage and sanitary ware.
The PN was heavily criticised for the introduction of the €500 a week honoraria in the previous legislature but take a look at this, it’s simple maths.
Current Government: 14 ministers x €42002 each = €588,028
Previous Government: 8 ministers x €42002 each + €500 a week honoraria (€ 208000) = €544,016
TOTAL INCREASE IN SALARIES = €44,012
This is the money they’re taking from our pockets.
It is the most expensive cabinet ever.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Add the salaries needed to keep an additional 6 ministries, an additional 6 ministerial cars, an additional 6 ministerial offices etc etc…
Mind you I was never in favour of reducing the cabinet to the size that Dr. Gonzi did and he said this was not a good idea, I also think that the ministers usually deserve getting much more than they do and in fact still think that the increases that were given to ministers should have remained but politically the opposition had made a real killing with that and so the government had to backtrack.
What is dishonest is to have used the increase for 5 years to badger government and then make the same thing (but in a different manner) yourself.
Can’t Labour build a trailer park in the south so Silvio can be given a job looking after it?
Imma l-ahjar li tiktbulu l-hsibijiet taghkom bil-Malti, ghax zgur mhux qed jifhimkom. U jekk il-Malti jkun kif jinhass ferm ahjar.