Comment of the day

Published: April 6, 2013 at 9:22am

Sent in by Gary Jameson:

Quoting the newspaper reports:“According to the prime minister, had the county been managed for another year by the PN, the financial situation could have degenerated beyond a point of no return.

Dr Muscat said that the PL’s pledge to keep the same budget which last December was shot down, was crucial to keep the level of instability under control.”

So, just to clarify – if the PN had been voted into power and had implemented the 2013 budget, the country’s finances would have been ruined beyond repair. Which is why (when in opposition) Dr Muscat voted against this budget to stop it from happening – I assume it wasn’t just to bring down the government.

Now, with with the true state of public finances revealed and in order to safeguard the economy, Dr Muscat (now PM) will implement the same budget he voted against, the one which would have brought the country to its knees and ruined the economy beyond repair, as it is crucial to keep the level of instability under control, and because he is the one implementing it, the budget that would have destroyed Malta’s finances under the PN will now miraculously have the opposite effect.

This is classic doublethink/doublespeak straight out of Orwell’s 1984. I have never heard of such a ludicrous piece of political reasoning from a politician.

No wonder he wants Nationalist MPs in the government as he doesn’t seem to have a handle on reality.

govern as a movement




18 Comments Comment

  1. Joseph Vassallo- Agius says:

    Joseph Muscat has no idea how to govern.

    • ciccio says:

      Correct, in the sense of how we understand it – effective, honest government.

      However, there are other ways to govern. For instance, dictatorial and propagandistic methods are used by incompetent governments whose only aim is to acquire power and then hold on to it for their benefit and for the benefit of the ones who help them with their aims.

      It is clear, from the first few decisions taken in the past month (phew, one month out already, thank God for that), that this Muscat government is one that will resort to extremist measures in order to protect its power.

      So far, the Muscat government has only administered a good dose of red arrogance.

  2. Paddling Duck says:

    A new book to add to your collection… Now you’ll have THREE books! (Together with 50-shades & Joseph)

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sebah-Jum-Gdid/277134922419943

  3. La Redoute says:

    It’s back to the 1980s, in more ways than one.

    If you’ve never heard anything so ludicrous, that’s because you haven’t been listening to Muscat. Everything he says is straight out of 1984.

  4. AE says:

    Hawwadni ha nifhmek.

    So how is he going to pay for his huge Cabinet and other posts that will be earning more than the previous lot?

    • Makjavel says:

      If I heared Joseph correctly, it’s by paying out less to the new chairpersons and board members.

      As an example he mentioned the new Mepa Chairman’s remuneration.

      Typical communist mentality and the easy way out for the likes of Joseph, cut wages down to reduce government expences, instead of the more challenging solution of increasing high quality employement which pays more in taxes to the government.

  5. canon says:

    Joseph Muscat used to contradict himself before the general election. Now as ,Prime Minister, even more.

  6. Joe Pavia says:

    That is what is terrifying il-Moviment. Simon Busuttil did well not to accept the supposedly outstreched hand of Dr Muscat to office the members of the opposion various delegated work.

    Then we would become a one party nation similar to Mussolini’s Italia and Hitler’s Germany. See where these two have ended in due course but how much did the citizens suffer. Keep the good work up Simon.

  7. Gary Jameson says:

    Actually, I should also have included this bit and I hope Roger Daltrey isn’t reading (sorry) as I’ve mashed a truly classic song:

    “I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
    Take a bow for the new revolution

    Change it had to come
    We knew it all along
    We were liberated from the fall that’s all
    But the world looks just the same
    And history ain’t changed

    There’s nothing in the street
    Looks any different to me
    And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
    And now the budget from the right
    Is now the budget from the left

    For I know that the hypnotized never lie
    And the morals that they worship will be gone

    I’ll get all my papers and smile at the sky
    Smile and grin at the change all around me

    Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
    We don’t get fooled again

    Meet the new boss
    Same as the old boss”

  8. il-korla says:

    What about the new cabinet salaries? Are these included in the budget?

  9. Yanika says:

    I despair.

    I can’t believe the level of ignorance and crassness there is in this country.

    At my place of work (I work in at the general hospital) it has happened more than once now: It is not unusual for me to go to a ward, or outpatients, and hear randomly ‘Issa hemm taghna fil-gvern, hi!’, or something to that effect.

    I really doubt sometimes that the Health Minister has done anything to solve any problems in MDH.

  10. David says:

    But although Malta is in ruins, he found enough money to add more ministries, boards, consultants etc.

  11. Manuel says:

    Typical class-room politics. Still thinks that he is at College running for class-captain.

  12. A says:

    According to the times Joseph Muscat said today that “Malta will end the year with a deficit of 3.5% of GDP………the official target (under the previous administration) was 2.3%” but had been moved slightly (I imagine upwards) towards the end of the year.

    Here are some quick calculations:
    -Malta’s GDP in 2012 was EUR6755 million
    -If we assume that it will stay the same (given current economic conditions)
    – A deficit of 2.7% (which was expected under the PN government) = EUR182 m
    – A deficit of 3.5% (which is now expected under the labour government) = EUR 236 m

    The difference between the two is EUR 54 m.

    Now every ministry or secretariet is estimated to cost around EUR 1 million. Question: since we now have about 23 of them and incoming PL staff (as reported this week) have been given a higher wage than their nationalist predecessors, isn’t a large part of that difference in the deficit due to Joseph Muscat’s decisions in his first month in office, and the many promises he made before the election?

    Here’s a thought on how to reduce the deficit: reduce the number of ministries and stop giving every switcher a job that they are not capable of doing and they do not MERIT! Perhaps Joseph Muscat should look up the word “meritocracy” in the dictionary.

    And Muscat’s best quote of them all is: “The state of finances is not as they told us but we exected this ….(and) won’t be complaining about the situation”…….Joseph: You asked for the job, you got it, and you are messing it up!!! What have you to complain about??

  13. Steve Forster says:

    Just wait around another six months until the ECOFIN council gets a peek at this lots “economic data” and fiscal prudence within the eurozone group, then you’ll really see the “merde frappe le ventilateur” big time.

  14. Wilson says:

    But this was an obvious line he was going to take. People should have realized this when the budget was voted against but still to be implemented if they won the election (another obvious fact).

    This game has been played before, it is the same drum being beaten as CET/VAT saga and others.

    Not a strategy of a moviment but a lame story of a village pickle.

    At this point I don’t mind it at all, since it will mostly effect the ones that voted him in.

    The boat is being rocked by none other than JM, it will rock so violently at some point that nothing will stop it from capsizing.

  15. taghna lkoll says:

    Oqodu hemm ja mahruqin u ndannati

    • Josette says:

      Milli jidher kemm kemm indannat int!! Aħjar tibda tara f’liema sqaq se jdaħħalna l-PM il-ġdid. Naħseb PM inkompetenti daqsu Malta għadha qatt ma ratt. Pero t-tip tiegħek jemmnu kull ma jgħidilhom u jgħiduli proset, kompli f***i lil pajjiż,

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